Smoke On The Water
by Harleyquinnzelz
Summary: Name one hero who was happy. You can't.' In which Ariel Winchester, the youngest Winchester sibling, must learn exactly what it takes to become a hero. The hard way. Castiel x OC 'I'll tell you a secret. I'm going to be the first.'
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

" _Remember, hope is a good thing Red, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."_

\- Stephen King

It was the sight of the familiar house that finally tugged on Dean's heartstrings.

The front lawn was admittedly patchy and overgrown, he didn't think Bobby Singer even owned a lawnmower. He definitely wouldn't be winning any award for his yard in any case. But the sight of the sunflowers growing determinedly in the flower bed was perhaps the most welcoming sight that he could imagine.

They bobbed cheerily in the wind, as if greeting him, the yellow bright and eye-catching. He had been there when Ariel had planted those seeds, hadn't he? He had seen her marching out front with the packet in her hand, expression the same determined one that Dean had always associated with their father.

Despite Dean insisting that the sunflowers wouldn't grow, and he had been so sure they wouldn't, Ariel had persisted, planting the seeds and watering and waiting patiently for _weeks,_ eventually coaxing them forth from the earth in that gentle, giving manner that she had.

Everything Dean had done since crawling out of the ground had been methodical, but it was this, seeing those sunflowers that reminded him of Ariel's warm smile, that made him stop to really process the fact that he was _alive._

Bobby would be inside this house and Ariel too, completely unaware of what was about to happen. They would be surprised, of course. But happy. Dean knew they would be happy just as sure as he knew they had grieved when he had been taken to Hell.

That had been the last time he had seen Ariel too, panic-stricken and screaming and watching as a hellhound tore him apart.

 _And Sam…_

There was no telling where Sammy was, but asking Bobby and Ariel was probably a start.

Maybe he would be here. Maybe he was sitting on the couch with Bobby, drinking a beer. Maybe Ariel had just snapped a picture of him, catching him by surprise while she grinned like a Cheshire cat from behind her camera.

Maybe Dean had died but things had progressed as usual in his absence. Maybe, as far as the people he loved most in the world went, _life was good._

But the feeling in Dean's gut told him otherwise. The fact that he was back, in the flesh, meant that life was _not_ good and things had not progressed as usual.

He wasn't sure if it was a crossroad demon that had brought him back, but he could just imagine Sammy making the deal or, God forbid, _Ariel._ He doubted it was the latter, however. He couldn't see Ariel having the heart or the stomach for it and Bobby was so protective of her that Dean doubted she could have done something so drastic without her uncle knowing. After all, Bobby hadn't even entertained the possibility that it was Dean when had had called after reaching that gas station.

He walked up the front path, mostly grown over with grass and weeds now, heart thudding in his chest as he tried to anticipate what would happen when he knocked on the door.

He could see the towers of cars stacked high behind the house, the junkyard just the same now as it had always been. A yellow bike with a white wicker basket was leaned against the railing of the front porch. Everything was so...mundane. Unassuming.

This house was one he had seen hundreds of times before, this pathway to the front door one he had taken more times than he could count. Everything about it was familiar, from the bright blue fingerprints staining the porch railing to the delicate lace curtains hanging in only one of the upstairs windows.

Dean mounted the steps of the front porch, hesitating for a moment as he looked at those blue fingerprints, left behind by an eager Ariel when he and Sam and Dad had dropped by unexpectedly one morning. She had been fingerpainting on the porch when they had pulled up and he could still remember the way she had leaped to her feet, squealing excitedly, hands a mess of colors as she peered over the railing, eyes bright and smile vibrant.

That had been a long time ago, and things had changed drastically since.

Sucking in a deep breath, Dean raised his fist and rapped his knuckles fiercely against the door.

A moment later the door was opened, and Dean was staring into the face of Bobby Singer who squinted in the bright sunlight, taking in the fact that it was Dean Winchester standing on his front porch who, last he checked, was _very very dead._

"Surprise," Dean offered, giving Bobby a tired smile.

"I- I don't-"

"Yeah, me either," Dean said, cutting off Bobby's stuttering, stepping inside. The house was just as he remembered, smelling of dust and old books and beer. The familiar smells comforted him in a way. "But here I am."

Dean moved forward again and Bobby lunged, quick as a cat, lashing out at Dean with a knife but Dean was faster and grabbed Bobby's arm, twisting it behind his arm until he dropped it. Without much thought on the matter, Dean kicked it away until it was well out of reach. Bobby broked free, turning to backhand Dean across the face.

The action stung but there was no real force

"Bobby, it's me!"

"My ass!" Bobby growled, glaring at Dean.

He could see the fear written across the older man's face, could sense the doubt and disbelief. It wasn't that Bobby didn't _want_ to believe him, it was that every hunter instinct in him was telling him that it was too good to be true. Dean knew this because if the positions were reversed, he would be acting in the exact same way. With that in mind, Dean reached out to grab a chair, moving it until it was between himself and Bobby. Better to have an obstacle in the way, he decided.

" _Wait,"_ Dean said, holding his hands up in surrender. "Your name is Robert Steven Singer. You became a hunter after your wife got possessed. You uh...raised my little sister Ariel since she was a baby and...you're the closest thing I have to a father."

Bobby stared at him again, gaze unwavering until he suddenly dove for his silver knife once more, swinging it out in Dean's direction.

"I'm not a shapeshifter!" Dean insisted, ducking.

"Then you're a revenant!"

Dean reached out, grabbing Bobby's wrist and prying the silver knife from his grasp, the other man glowering at him.

"Alright," Dean sighed, rolling the sleeve of his shirt up. "If I was either could I do this?"

He drew the blade of the knife slowly across the skin of his exposed right forearm, leaving a line of blood in its wake. He looked up at Bobby, waiting for some sort of reaction but he just stared, eyes wide with disbelief.

" _Dean?"_ He asked finally

With a huge sigh of relief, Dean nodded. "That's what I've been trying to tell you."

Bobby broke, rushing forward to pull Dean into a hug, gripping the fabric of his shirt as if he were afraid Dean would disappear.

When they finally pulled away, Bobby smiled warmly. "It's good to see you, boy," He said.

"Yeah, you too," Dean replied.

"But...how did you bust out?"

"I don't know," Dean admitted. "I just uh...woke up in a pine box."

Suddenly, Bobby splashed water from a flask in Dean's face, leaving him spluttering as he spat it out.

"I'm not a demon either." He sighed heavily.

The sound of a cocking gun from behind him had him freezing, hand half-raised to his face to wipe away the excess water.

"I don't care what you are," a voice from behind him said coolly. "My brother is dead. And I won't be fooled by some cheap imposter."

"Ariel, it's really me." He insisted, turning to face her slowly.

She stood there, shotgun level with his chest, eyes narrowed in a calculating manner. Dean had never seen his baby sister look so cold in his entire life. Not that her doubt was completely unwarranted. The last time she had seen him, it had been when a hellhound was killing him.

"I saw a hellhound rip _Dean_ open," she said pointedly. "His soul was _dragged to Hell_."

"And it's back now," Dean told her. "In my body, I mean. Which is no longer ripped open."

"I think it's really him Ari," Bobby said from his spot behind Dean.

At her uncle's words, Ariel slowly lowered her shotgun, her lower lip beginning to tremble as she looked at Dean, tears beginning to brim in the corners of her familiar blue eyes. He understood suddenly how much self-control it had taken for her to appear so cold and uncaring. It just wasn't in his sister's nature.

" _Dean?"_

There was the little sister he remembered. Emotional, not the stone cold badass who had been ready to shoot him dead.

"Hey, Ari."

She lunged forward then, all five feet of her as she threw herself into his arms, burying her face in his chest. He hugged her tight, resting his chin on her head until she finally moved, tilting her head back to look at him.

"I thought you were dead, asshole!"

"I thought I was too," Dean offered.

She stepped back, reaching up to wipe at her eyes, leaving a smear of grease across the bridge of her nose. Her hands were _filthy,_ Dean noticed and he knew immediately that she had been out working in the scrap yard.

"Sorry. For pointing a gun at you, I mean. You can't be too careful." She said, leaning the gun against the wall.

"I would have done the same thing," Dean told her.

For a moment Ariel looked like she wanted to say something in response but thought better of it, stepping past Dean into the kitchen.

"Hey, are you hungry?" She called suddenly over her shoulder, pulling the door to the fridge open and peering inside.

"Hell yeah!"

Hastily eaten gas station food was one thing, but actual _cooked_ food was something else entirely. And anyway, it had been...what? Four months since Dean had eaten a decent meal.

"What's on the menu, Ari?"

* * *

"Okay... _what?_ " Ariel furrowed her brow, staring at her brother in confusion.

"That doesn't make a lick of sense," Bobby added, shaking his head slightly.

"You're preaching to the choir." Dean sighed, before sucking the remaining bacon grease from the tips of his fingers.

Ariel curled her nose slightly at the sight, exchanging a look with Bobby. Truth be told, she was still in shock. She had spent the last four months believing she would never see her oldest brother again. He was _dead._ She had watched him _die._ She had been there crying and screaming and watching as the hellhound tore into him. She had cradled his body afterward, not giving any thought to Dean's blood oozing into the denim of her jeans and shirt. She had helped to dig his fucking grave.

As much as it _sucked_ and as much as she loved her brother, she had grown resigned to the fact that he was gone. And yet here he was, sitting across from her at the kitchen table, eating bacon and eggs and toast and _making a fucking mess_.

"Dean," she said patiently. "I was there. I saw you die. That hellhound turned you into _Kibble 'n Bits._ Even if you did manage to slip out of Hell, how is your body like...in tact?"

"I know I should look like a _Thriller_ video reject," Dean confirmed, bobbing his head in agreement. "The truth is I don't know what happened.

"What do you remember?" Bobby asked.

It felt wrong, sitting her questioning the _why_ of how her brother was back from the dead. It felt more like it should have been a cause for celebration. Instead, it filled them all with unease.

"Not much. I remember I was the hellhound's chew toy, and then...lights out. Then I came to six feet under. Actually," he looked between Ariel and Bobby then, face twisted in worry. "Sam's number's not working. He's not...uh…"

"Dead?" Ariel asked, raising a brow. She stood, stacking all three dirty plates together. "No. He's alive as far as we know. Not for lack of trying though." She walked over to the sink, setting the plates down before retrieving a bottle of beer from the fridge, setting it on the table in front of Dean.

"What does that mean?" Dean asked, turning to look at her.

She shrugged slightly. "He hasn't _willingly_ talked to use for months. He only answers when I spam call his phone. And...we've heard from _other_ hunters that he's uh...thrown himself into work."

"On his own?" Dean asked sharply, turning to glare at Bobby as if it was his fault.

"He was dead set on it," Bobby explained.

"You two should've been out looking for him." Dean snapped.

Ariel rolled her eyes. Back from the dead and her brother was still just as stubborn as she remembered. Not even hell could change that she figured.

"You think we didn't try?" She asked, swatting the back of Dean's head, partly in exasperated affection and partly in annoyance. "But Sam is as stubborn as you. He didn't _want_ us to find him. And you know these past few months haven't exactly been easy on any of us."

"What do you mean?"

She gave him a long look. "We had to bury you, dumbass."

"Why _did_ you bury me, anyway?" Dean asked, looking between them once more.

"I wanted you salted and burned, usual drill. But _they_ wouldn't hear of it." Bobby said, tilting her head in Ariel's direction.

She shifted, moving to sit down once more and crossing her arms over her chest. "I just didn't want to have to burn my big brother's body." She told him finally, with a sigh. "Sam though...he kept insisting that you would need a body to return to when he finally brought you back."

" _What?"_

"He was quiet. Real quiet. And then he just took off. Only answered Ariel's calls once in a blue moon. We tried to find him but he didn't want to be found." Bobby explained.

"You think he brought you back?" Ariel deduced quickly, expression thoughtful as she looked at her brother. In all honesty, Ariel wouldn't have been surprised if it was Sam behind this. As smart as he was, Sammy could be really stupid sometimes. Ariel had enough common sense to know that meddling with the balance of life and death never went well. Her brothers, apparently, did _not_ have that same common sense.

"Yeah," Dean confirmed with a simple nod. "But whatever he did was bad mojo."

"What do you mean?"

"You should have seen the gravesite," Dean explained. "It was like a nuke went off. And then there was this...force, this presence, I don't know, but it blew past me at a fill-up joint. And then this."

He stood up, pulling off his jacket and draping it over the back of his chair before rolling up the sleeve of his flannel to reveal his shoulder.

" _What the hell?"_ Ariel stood, crossing around the table to examine the raised welt in the shape of a handprint that stood out so starkly on Dean's skin.

"What _happened?_ " Bobby asked, moving to stand behind her, looking at the mark.

Dean shrugged. "It was like a demon just yanked me out. Or rode me out."

"But why?" Bobby asked, sitting back in his seat, crossing his arms and looking troubled.

"To hold up their end of the bargain," Dean replied simply, sitting back down as well.

"You think Sam made a deal?"

"It's what I would have done," Dean nodded, rolling the sleeve of his shirt back down.

Ariel sighed, shaking her head. "Here's what I don't understand," She began. "Lilith wanted you dead. She wanted you dead so much that there was no getting you out of your contract, no matter what kind of deals we tried to make. So then...what changed? Wouldn't she _still_ want you dead?"

* * *

Despite the fact that the Impala had originally belonged to John Winchester, Ariel had always associated the car with her brother. It was, after all, the car that Dean had taught her to drive in. And it was Dean who taught her all the mechanical ins and outs when it came to touch-ups and repairs (though Bobby had refined her knowledge over the years). It was Dean who would wake her in the middle of the night and drive her to the local twenty-four-hour diner where they would sit and eat fries and burgers and drink shakes and choose classic rock to be played on the jukebox.

It may have been John's car first, but it was Dean who loved it the most.

Ariel loved the car too. Loved it because Dean loved it and it had been ingrained into her very bones since childhood. But she also loved it because Dean had pressed the keys into the palm of _her_ hand before he had died. Dean had trusted _her_ with it

She also loved it because, in the last four months, sitting in the driver's seat of that car was the closest Ariel felt to her brother.

In the hours that had followed Dean's death, she had gripped those keys as tight as she could in her hand, a painful reminder that the anguish she was feeling was _real._ After they had buried Dean she had sat in the car for hours and cried. No amount of coaxing from Bobby could lure her out, and no attempts from Sam to get her to hand the keys over and let him take the Impala could convince her.

Sam had had months with just Dean, on the road hunting. He had _memories._ Ariel was getting the goddamn car.

As protective as she had grown over her ownership of the Impala, it felt almost wrong to drop the keys into Dean's hand once more, and the satisfaction on his face as he wrapped his fingers around them was almost like salt to the wound.

Seeing the dejected look on her face, Dean offered her a grin. "You'll be the permanent owner one day, kiddo." He assured her.

She huffed, turning to open the passenger door of the Impala to slip inside. "I'm not a kid," she snapped.

Dean snorted, walking around the hood to open the driver's door to sit. "You'll always be a kid to me, kid sister."

She rolled her eyes, sighing heavily. Back five minutes and her brother was already being a prick. Ariel didn't know why she had expected anything different.

As if he were able to sense her thoughts, Dean looked at her from the corner of his eye. "You're the one who wanted to ride with me. There's still time if you want to go get in Bobby's car."

Ariel shook her head quickly, buckling her seatbelt as if the accentuate her decision. "You've been dead for _four months_ Deano. I'm riding with you."

He grinned, turning the keys in the ignition and making the car hum to life. _Renegade_ by Styx played from the radio and Dean's grin widened into a full-fledged smile as he started to sing along, his deep voice echoing back off the dashboard. He put the car in drive, his fingers drumming on the steering wheel along with the beat.

"You seem awfully happy about this one song," Ariel commented. "What, did they only play smooth jazz in hell?"

Dean glanced at her in surprise. "What?"

"What?" She blinked innocently.

"I just...didn't expect you to ask about Hell I guess." He responded.

"Why? Because I'm your sensitive, emotional little sister and you don't think I can handle it?" Ariel scoffed, shaking her head. "I'm not nearly as delicate as you seem to think I am Dean. I _am_ a hunter. I can handle it. So...spill. What happened down there?"

Dean was quiet for a moment, his grip on the steering wheel tightening as he stared determinedly out the windshield. They had only just started the drive and Ariel had already made things awkward.

"I don't remember," Dean said finally.

" _You don't remember?"_ Ariel asked disbelievingly.

Dean shook his head. "Nope. Maybe whatever pulled me out doesn't want me to remember."

Ariel narrowed her eyes, staring at her brother for a long time. His explanation felt a little too convenient, a little too easy. It seemed almost as if he was forcing his good mood. It felt _wrong_. But if he wasn't telling her then it was his prerogative, she couldn't _force_ him. And Ariel also knew her brother well enough to know that any attempts to tell him that talking about what happened to him in the pit might help would be ignored.

And _maybe_ Dean was telling the truth. Maybe he really didn't remember.

Ariel shrugged, sitting back in her seat. In the rearview mirror, she could see Bobby's car trailing behind them, no doubt enjoying a quiet drive.

The song on the radio changed, Styx being replaced by the more feminine voice of Blondie.

"What about you, Ari?" Dean asked. "Four months is a long time. What's new?"

"Nothing," Ariel replied with a shrug.

" _Nothing?"_ Dean asked. "Nothing new in four whole months?"

She shrugged again. "Hunts mostly. I did go on a date a couple of weeks ago with a guy named Aaron who attends the community college in Sioux Falls."

"A _date_?" Dean's brows raised in surprise.

Ariel didn't blame him. She pointedly _avoided_ dating, mostly because the life of a hunter was not kind to the loved ones. But this guy had been cute and sweet. Ariel had figured what the hell.

In addition to being cute and sweet, she had also quickly found out that he was _boring._ To his credit, Aaron had picked her up right on time and had shaken Bobby's hand and had opened the car door for Ariel. He had been perfectly polite but at the end of the night when he had gone in for a kiss, she had ducked her head and scurried into the house, leaving him standing awkwardly on the porch until Bobby had turned the porch light off with a chuckle.

"So are you going to go out with him again?" Dean asked curiously.

"Uh...no."

"Why not? He wasn't an asshat, was he? He didn't try anything? Do I need to go kick his ass?"

"No Dean," Ariel snapped impatiently. "I just don't like him. Can we like... _not_ talk about my non-existent love life? Pretty sure we have _other_ things to worry about."

"Geez," Dean let out a low whistle. "So defensive. I figured you'd be happy to get the chance to talk about yourself. I guess you want to spend the whole car ride discussing how I got out of Hell."

Ariel was very quiet, glowering slightly as she stared out the window. _No,_ she didn't want to talk about how Dean had gotten out of hell. She wanted to tell him how glad she was that he had and that it was a _miracle._ Only Ariel was smart enough to know that nothing was ever that easy and all miracles came with a price.

She was worried that Sam was going to have to pay it and, as happy as she was to have Dean back, Ariel didn't want to get one brother back just to lose the other.

"Sorry," she said. "I'm just...worried, I guess. If there's one thing I've learned it's that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. I just want to figure this out to make sure that Sam didn't do something stupid."

"It's Sammy. Chances are-"

"I know. We have every reason to believe that he did one of those stupid, impulsive things that the two of you have the habit of doing."

" _Hey!"_ He said defensively.

Ariel couldn't help but chuckle lightly. "Sorry. One of those stupid, _noble,_ impulsive things that you have the habit of doing."

"We'll figure it out, Ari. I'm not going anywhere." He assured her.

"Yeah well...we were supposed to figure out a way to keep you from dying too."

Her words hung heavy in the air between them and for a long time the two of them stayed silent, both mulling over what she had said. Ari remembered how hard she had searched for a way to get Dean out of his deal without killing Sam. But she had been unsuccessful and ultimately had failed both of her brothers. And in the end, she and Sam had been forced to watch Dean die while they remained useless, unable to help.

Though it had been Dean's death that had haunted her nightmares in the months following, that feeling of helplessness had stuck with Ariel.

Finally, when she was unable to stand the silence anymore, she leaned forward, turning the radio up, allowing the sound of classic rock to fill the car.

* * *

Like most of the hotels that hunters stayed at, the one Sam had chosen looked like it had seen far better days.

"How come hunters never stay in nice places?" Ariel asked as they walked down the hallway, curling her nose up at a mysterious stain on the hallway. She couldn't tell what had caused it but if the grimy yellow color was anything to go by, she probably didn't _want_ to know.

"We're a simple sort of crowd," Dean said pleasantly.

She imagined if any of the patrons staying at the hotel that night were to open their doors and see Ari, Dean, and her Uncle Bobby striding down the hall purposefully they would probably be a little intimidated. They would look like a group on a mission, determinedly headed towards the room at the very end of the hallway, the door looming there just waiting for them.

"I want you to stay behind Dean and me, Ari," Bobby said gruffly as the approached the door.

She frowned, turning to look at him. "Uncle Bobby, no! I'll be fine."

"We don't know what's behind this door. If Sam made a dealing with a demon it could still be around." Bobby insisted, ignoring the fact that his niece was glaring at him.

"He's right Ari." Dean's tone left no room for argument and, knowing that her options were to listen or be forcibly moved behind them, Ari let them move ahead of her, shuffling behind with her lips pursed in annoyance.

It was _always_ like this when it came to the important stuff, Ari had noticed. Despite the fact that Ariel was a _hunter_ just like them, it almost seemed as if nobody actually believed she could _hunt_ anything. They always treated her like she was some fragile thing made of glass. Ari knew that they felt like they had to protect her but what she longed to say was that she didn't _need_ protection. She needed them to get their heads out of their asses and acknowledge the fact that Ariel was just as capable as any of them.

Dean raised his fist, wrapping his knuckle against the door to the hotel room that the woman at the front desk had told them Sam was staying in.

A moment later it was answered by a woman who stood there wearing only a tank top and a pair of panties. She frowned, placing her hands on her hips, seemingly uncaring of the fact that she didn't have on pants.

"So where is it?" She asked expectantly, looking over the three of them.

"Um...what?" Ariel looked between Dean and her Uncle Bobby, confusion clearly written across her face. Whoever this woman was, it clearly was _not_ Sam.

"The pizza…" The woman prompted. "That takes three people to deliver." She gestured to the three of them, clearly unimpressed.

"I think we got the wrong room," Dean said, starting to turn away.

Sam stepped around the corner then, standing in the doorway, looking remarkably tired.

"Hey is-" He looked up, seeing them standing there in the doorway and immediately fell silent, expression twisting into one of surprise. For a moment he could only look between them.

"Heya Sammy…" Dean said, his words quiet but hanging heavily in the silence between them.

Ariel stared at Sam, gauging his reaction. He certainly didn't _look_ like someone who had expected their brother to return from the dead. He looked gobsmacked, utterly amazed to find Dean Winchester standing outside his hotel room. Ariel recognized the emotions that flicked across Sam's face because they were the same emotions she had felt when she had come inside from the scrapyard to find Dean standing in the living room talking to her uncle.

Dean moved forward, stepping beyond the threshold of the bedroom, the woman stepping aside to let him. As he approached, Sam suddenly lunged forward, whipping out a knife with the speed that Ariel had come to associate only with seasoned hunters.

The woman screamed, flattening herself against the wall as Sam attempted to slice at Dean with the knife. Dean, to his credit, had reacted just as speedily and was keeping Sam at bay but it didn't stop Ariel and Bobby from rushing into the room to try to separate the two.

"Who are you?" Sam yelled, still trying to get at Dean. He looked furious, deadly.

"Like you didn't do this!" Dean shouted back, jaw tense.

"Sam it's him," Ariel yelled, finally managing to interject herself between the two, placing her hands on his chest. Physically she wasn't such a strong barrier, but her presence between them was still enough to make Sam pause, expression faltering as he looked between them. "It really is," she added gently.

The fight immediately left Sam's body and he looked at Ariel with his confused puppy expression before looking past her at Dean, looking on the verge of tears.

"What…"

"I know. I look fantastic, huh?" Dean asked, advancing cautiously, eyes still on Sam as if he expected him to lash out again.

Slowly, Ariel lowered her hands, stepping back out of the way, eyes shifting between her brothers. She wasn't quite sure what she expected, but she couldn't help but tense up when Sam rushed forward.

He threw his arms around Dean, pulling him into a desperate hug. Dean wrapped his arms around Sam, the brothers embracing for a moment. Ariel smiled softly, exchanging a look with Bobby who looked like he was about to cry himself. She knew they would have to figure out who was behind Dean coming back from the dead but for now, it was nice seeing her brothers like this.

Finally, Sam pushed back, holding Dean at arm's length as he looked him over, still appearing confused.

"So are you two like...together?" The strange woman asked, drawing all of their attention.

Her expression flickered between confusion and amusement as she looked at the scene before her.

Ariel couldn't help but snort slightly in amusement at the question, turning to look at her brothers, smirking slightly.

"What?" Sam asked, absently as if he had forgotten the woman was even there at all. "No, no. He's my brother."

* * *

Despite the fact that Ariel definitely felt like she was closer to Dean, it had always been Sam who understood and was willing to talk about more complex emotions. Dean may have been the one who showed Ariel how to drive and who taught her how to ride her bike and he showed her how to change the oil in a car and change a flat and rebuild a motor, but it had always been Sam that Ariel went to when she was upset or angry or scared.

Except for the four years when Sam was away at Stanford being _normal._ Living with his girlfriend, studying for law school, leaving his family behind. Ariel understood that it was John and Dean that Sam had left behind, but she couldn't help but feel as if he had abandoned her as well.

Not that she could blame him really. She supposed every hunter, at one point or another, has the right to choose to live a normal life if that's what he or she wants to do. She just couldn't ever see herself doing it.

Regardless, Sam had left once leaving Ariel with her choice of three gruff, grumpy men to try to talk about _feelings_ with. And though she tried not the blame Sam for leaving, she couldn't help but resent him slightly for it.

Of course, all of that had changed when Sam came back, determined to help Dean find her missing father. So their already absentee father was even more absent than usual. Ariel had both her brothers back.

But then Dean died and Sam disappeared again, returning Ariel's calls sparingly. She knew it was his attempt to put her worries at bay but really he only succeeded in making her feel like an afterthought. _Oh yeah, I have another sibling._

Stanford she could understand, but disappearing after Dean's death was what really pissed her off. When she had first seen him in the doorway of the hotel room she had felt nothing but anticipation. They were about to find out if he had gotten Dean back from the dead. He was about to see their brother who had been dead for months.

But now...well, it was like Ariel's bad mood had expanded to fill the whole car.

She sat in the back seat, arms crossed over her chest, glaring at the back of Sam's head. She supposed she could have ridden with Bobby but she was not so keen to let her brother's out of her sight. It had been months since she had seen either of them.

"You really pissed her off, Sammy," Dean said, looking at him from the corner of his eye.

Sam shifted in his seat, turning to peer at Ariel and offering her an apologetic smile. "I am sorry, Ariel," He said.

"Mm-hmm," she hummed in acknowledgment.

"I just...had to try to get Dean back. Or kill the bitch who killed him."

"Well you _didn't_ get Dean back so disappearing for that reason was kind of pointless," she snapped. "And as far as killing Lilith goes, I don't think I have to remind you that dad's misguided attempts to get revenge are what ultimately got him killed in the end."

Her words were harsh and both Sam and Dean frowned, exchanging a look. It wasn't what they expected from Ariel but the past few months hadn't just been hard on them and she had never been the type to try to disguise feelings or hide them. She had always worn her heart on her sleeve.

"Dad was just doing what he thought was right," Dean defended but Ariel shook her head.

"This isn't about Dad," she said. "This is about Sam. Who should have had enough common sense to know that disappearing and leaving behind the only family he had left was _not_ the right thing to do. God Sam, a three-minute phone call every few weeks didn't make up for the fact that Uncle Bobby and I didn't know where you were. We were _worried_ , you asshole. I'd already lost Dean and you made me feel like I had lost my other brother too."

Her words hung heavy in the air, making Sam's expression soften. "Ari…"

"Don't apologize," she said. "Just do better in the future. You're better than Dad. So act better."

Part of her felt bad for saying it, made her feel as if she didn't love her dead father enough, but it was true. John Winchester was winning no father of the year awards on any front. And both Sam and Dean had grown into better men that John Winchester had ever been.

"Damn Ari, how long have you been holding that in?" Dean asked with a chuckle.

"Oh, about four months give or take," She replied without missing a beat.

"Four months," Dean mused. "It sounds like it was such a long time."

"It _was_ a long time," Sam insisted.

"So what happened? You know...after I bit it. How are you two even still alive. Lilith was there. I figured she would have killed you both."

"She tried," Ariel explained, leaning forward between the two seats. "She went after Sam first. But she couldn't do it."

"What do you mean she couldn't do it?" Dean asked, furrowing his brow.

Sam shrugged slightly. "She fired this, like, burning light at me, and… didn't leave a scratch. Like I was immune or something."

"Immune?"

"Yeah, I don't know who was more surprised, her or me. She left pretty fast after that." Sam continued.

"The only reason I'm alive is because she decided to go after Sam first," Ariel added.

"Huh," Dean was quiet for a long moment, considering what they had said. "What about Ruby, where is she?"

"Dead," Sam said simply. "For now, anyway."

"Good riddance," Ariel huffed, leaning back in her seat.

"So uh," Dean bit his lip, as if he wasn't sure about what to say or not. "You been using your freaky ESP stuff?"

"No," Sam answered immediately.

Dean looked at Ariel through the rearview mirror, the look on his face clearly asking her if she believed him. She shrugged slightly.

The truth was she didn't know what to believe. She had no idea what Sam had been up to in the past four months so she had no reason to believe or not believe what he said.

"You sure about that?" Dean finally asked. "Well, I mean, now that you've got… immunity, whatever the hell that is… just wondering what other kind of weirdo crap you've got going on."

"Nothing," Sam insisted. "Look, you didn't want me to go down that road, so I didn't go down that road. It was practically your dying wish."

If Ariel recalled correctly, Dean had had quite a few dying wishes. She could still remember that clearly, could remember the resignation in his eyes. He had been ready to face his death, ready to face the price for bringing Sam back.

Ariel could remember, in those moments of calm before she and her brothers and Ruby had entered the house of Lilith's meat suit, Dean looking at her and placing the keys to the Impala into her hand, curling her fingers around them. He had told her to take care of his car and she had agreed because what the hell else could she do?

When she was watching Dean get torn apart by the hellhound it had been the keys, gripped so tightly in her hand that she had made herself bleed, that reminded her that the scene before her was real.

"Yeah well, let's keep it that way," Dean said before falling silent again.

* * *

If Ariel were to make a list of people that she looked up to, Pamela Barnes would be one of the names near the very top of the list.

To say that Ariel was fond of the woman was an understatement, the two had hit it off the first time they had ever met and since Pamela had become the much needed female figure that Ariel needed in her life.

It was for that reason when Pamela opened the door to her house, Ariel rushed forward to embrace her with a squeal, the older woman laughing lightly as he wrapped her arms around Ariel.

"Hey kiddo," she said, ruffling Ariel's hair. "I take it the two studs are your older brothers?"

Ariel pulled back, beaming and nodding as she moved aside so that Pamela and Bobby could hug.

"You are a sight for sore eyes," Bobby told her fondly.

Finally, Pamela turned her attention fully on Sam and Dean, looking them over appraisingly and humming her approval.

Ariel couldn't help but grin slightly, amused. This is exactly what she had expected from this meeting.

"Guys, this is Pamela Barnes. The best psychic in the country." Ariel told her brothers firmly.

"Hey," Dean said flirtatiously, waggling his brows at her.

"Hi," Sam said awkwardly.

"Mmm-mmm-mmm Dean Winchester. Out of the fire and back in the frying pan, huh? That makes you a rare individual." Pamela smirked at him, still looking him over shamelessly.

"If you say so."

"Come on in," Pamela tilted her head, gesturing them inside as she stepped back, allowing the group to enter.

The house was dark and comfortable, with the same air of ease that Ariel had come to associate with most of Bobby's associates.

It also looked exactly how Ariel remembered it looking the first time she had met Pamela. That had been a long time ago when she was very young and Pamela was still recovering from Jesse. Bobby had been working a Tulpa case in the area and had been directed to Pamela for help. Ariel, still to young to actively participate on a hunt, had been resigned to the fact that she would likely be stuck in hotel rooms while Bobby worked the case but Pamela had offered to watch her. The two had spent most of the week eating junk food and watching Disney movies.

Ariel moved through the house with the familiar ease of someone who had been there before

"So you hear anything?" Bobby asked, trailing behind Ariel.

"Well, I ouija'd my way through a dozen spirits," Pamela replied. "No one seems to know who broke your boy out, or why."

"So what do we do?" Ariel had wandered over to a bookshelf and had been looking it over but now she turned, facing Pamela with a curious expression on her face.

"A séance, I think. See if we can see who did the deed."

"No summoning though, right?" Ari asked, unsure if she should be concerned for all of them or for Pamela trying to summon the thing.

"No, I just want to get a sneak peek at it. Like a crystal without the ball," she added, looking at Sam and Dean.

"I'm game," Dean said with a grin.

Despite Pamela's ease, given everything that had happened lately, Ariel didn't think that things would go as smoothly as she thought.

* * *

Sam had been unsurprised to see Ariel rush to embrace the psychic. He had known for a long time that Ariel could get along with just about everyone. It was on the list of reasons he admired his little sister, along with her compassion and kindness and empathy.

Ironically, those things were also at the top of the list of reasons Sam worried most about his little sister living the hunter lifestyle.

Sam spent a lot of time worrying about his little sister, especially as of late. She seemed almost too good, too _pure_ for the life. Ariel should be off at college, studying to do something with her life. He had thought about that a lot at Stanford, had thought about the kind of person Ariel would grow into. He had gotten away, he had escaped. But would Ariel, when the time came?

Sam had never really stopped to consider the fact that Ariel didn't _want_ to. She had grown up a hunter, but unlike Sam, she hadn't grown to resent it. She took _pride_ in it.

It scared Sam sometimes, the idea of his sweet baby sister growing into something cold. It's the way the life of a hunter worked, it took something from you, sucked the softness out.

That is if it didn't kill you first.

Sam was seated at the table between Ariel and Bobby, pointedly ignoring the looks Dean was shooting in Pamela's direction. At the pace they were going, Sam suspected the two would end up falling into bed together before the night was through.

 _You're invited too, Grumpy._

That was _not_ an invitation Sam had any interest in taking up, thanks.

From across the table, Pamela caught Sam's eye and smirked, offering him a little wink. She was attractive, Sam would give her that.

"Right," Pamela said, catching everybody's attention. "Take each other's hands."

They did, Sam gripping Ariel's small hand in one and Bobby's larger one in the other.

"And I need to touch something our mystery monster touched," Pamela continued.

A split second later, Dean jumped slightly, turning to look at Pamela in surprise.

"Whoa! Well, he didn't touch me there," Dean said.

" _Ew,"_ Ariel huffed quietly and Sam turned to exchange an equally disgusted look with her, snorting slightly when he saw the expression on her face.

"Pamela if you wanna screw Dean it's fine. Just please don't subject _us_ to this weird voyeurism foreplay." Ariel said, shifting awkwardly.

Pamela laughed, nodding slightly. "Sorry, Ari. Where _did_ he touch you, Dean?"

Dean looked around the table before reluctantly starting to peel off his button-down, leaving him in just his t-shirt. After another moment of hesitation, he rolled up his left shirt sleeve to reveal the handprint there. Immediately, Dean looked at Sam, gauging his reaction.

Sam could only stare at it, surprised. He knew that something strong had to have pulled Dean out of Hell, but he had no idea what could have left a mark like _that_. He looked between Ariel and Bobby, neither of whom looked surprised. Clearly, he had already shown them.

Slowly, Pamela laid her hand across the mark. "Okay," she breathed, closing her eyes. The others did the same.

" _I invoke, conjure, and command you, appear unto me before this circle,"_ Pamela began, her words making the flames of the candles in the center of the table flicker ominously. _"I invoke, conjure, and command you, appear unto me before this circle. I invoke, conjure, and command you, appear unto me before this circle."_

The sound of static suddenly filled the room. Beside him, Ariel jumped slightly and Sam opened his eyes, looking at her in concern. She had already opened hers and was looking past him, eyes wide with surprise. Slowly, Sam turned to look to see that the television had turned on, the screen snowy with static.

" _I invoke, conjure, and command…_ Castiel?"

Sam turned his attention back to Pamela, brows rising in surprise as she spoke what he could only assume was a name.

"No. Sorry, Castiel. I don't scare easy."

"Castiel?" Dean asked, opening his eyes now. Pamela's remained closed.

"Its name. It's whispering to me," Pamela explained. "Warning me to turn back."

Sam wondered, fleetingly, if perhaps they should listen. As if to emphasize this errant thought, the table began to vibrate, the sound of white noise filling the room around them.

" _I conjure and command you, show me your face. I conjure and command you, show me your face. I conjure and command you, show me your face. I conjure and command you, show me your face."_

The white noise grew louder, almost deafening and the table began to shake almost violently. Sam could barely hear Ariel's yelp of surprise, her grip on his hand tightening slightly.

"Maybe we should stop," Bobby suggested.

"I almost got it," Pamela snapped stubbornly. _"I command you, show me your face. Show me your face now!"_

Suddenly, the flames on the candles flared up and Pamela began to scream her eyes glowing with white-hot light. Then, just as suddenly as she started to scream she stopped, collapsing where she stood.

Bobby rushed forward, catching her before she could hit the ground and cradling her body.

"Pamela?"

Ariel stood abruptly, starting to move around the table to rush to her friend's aid, but Sam stood as well, reaching out to stop her. He didn't know what was going on, but until he did he was determined to keep his little sister safe.

"Let go, Sam!" Ariel demanded, struggling in his grasp. But Ariel was tiny, and Sam was much larger and stronger than her. It wasn't difficult to stop her.

"Call 9-1-1!" Bobby ordered.

Dean immediately rushed into the next room, pulling out his phone as he went.

"I can't see!" Pamela wailed. "I can't see!"

* * *

"Pie is _not_ going to make me feel better about Pamela, Dean." Ariel sighed, resting her chin in the palm of her hands.

After the séance, Bobby had ridden with Pamela to the hospital while Ariel stayed with her brothers. Sam and Dean had made the executive decision to go get a bite to eat and despite the fact that Ariel really wanted to make sure that Pamela was okay she had gone along with them.

"It's cherry," Dean said as if that made all the difference.

" _You_ like cherry pie, Deano," she reminded him.

Dean smiled slowly, nodding once. "You're damn right I do?"

Ariel rolled her eyes, sighing again.

"They have milkshakes," Sam offered, scanning over the menu in front of him. "Strawberry?"

"Maybe…"

Ariel's cell phone began to ring then, from where she had set it down on the placemat in front of her. She immediately lunged for it, taking a second to read the caller I.D. before flipping it open and pressing it to her ear.

"Uncle Bobby? How is she?" She asked urgently.

" _Blind,_ " he said immediately, causing Ariel's hopefulness to deflate immediately. _"But she'll be okay, kiddo. She's out of I.C.U. and she's stable now."_

"Uncle Bobby, if she's _blind,_ she won't be okay." Ariel pointed out. Sam and Dean looked at her in surprise at those words and she held up a finger, indicating that they needed to give her a minute.

" _Pamela is tough,"_ Bobby reminded her. _"She'll figure it out, Ari."_

"Just...tell her I'm sorry I guess."

" _You didn't blind her._

"I'm still sorry," Ari mumbled. "Anyway, I'll let you get back to it. I love you, Uncle Bobby."

" _Love you too, Ari."_

Ariel flipped the phone closed, setting it back on the table and meeting her brother's concerned looks steadily.

"Well Pamela is blind now," she announced. "Thanks to us."

"Thanks to _me_ ," Dean corrected, ignoring the glare Ariel immediately threw in his direction.

"You don't get to shoulder the blame for this all on your own, Deano. We _all_ went to her for help." She told him.

"Ariel is right. We all went to Pamela." Sam said. "But she also knew that there could be risks to helping us."

"At no point did any of us say 'Hey, by the way, this motherfucker could _blind_ you'." Ariel huffed. "The way I see it, we're all assholes for asking for her help in the first place."

Sam sighed, running a hand tiredly over his face. "And we still have no clue who we're dealing with," he admitted.

"We did get a name," Dean pointed out. "That's _something._ "

"Castiel," Ariel mused. "Sounds like some sort of laundry detergent, doesn't it?"

Dean smirked slightly, reaching forward to take his glass of water and taking a sip. "With the right mumbo-jumbo, we could summon him. Bring him right to us."

"You're crazy," Sam scoffed. "Absolutely not."

"We'll work him over. I mean, after what he did." Dean defended.

"Sure, that'll go great," Ariel rolled her eyes, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms over her chest. "He only _burned Pamela's eyes out of her skull._ But sure, we'll be fine."

"You got a better idea?" Dean asked expectantly.

Ariel frowned, huffing as she shook her head. "Well, no…"

"Well _I_ do," Sam said importantly. Both Dean and Ariel turned to look at him with keen interest. "I followed some demons into town, right?"

"Okay…"

"So we go find them. Someone's gotta know something about something."

"Well I'm not sure I like that plan much better, honestly," Ariel sighed, massaging her temples in soothing circles. She had forgotten over the months when Dean was dead, apparently, that having her brothers together tended to be headache inducing.

Ariel immediately felt guilty at that thought. They were just trying to figure things out, even if both of their suggestions felt reckless. Summoning some unknown creature? Trying to get dependable information from _demons._ As far as Ariel was concerned, both of her brothers were crazy.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by their waitress suddenly setting down three plates of pie, getting a happy sigh from Dean who looked down at the dessert almost lovingly.

A second later, the waitress sat down in the free chair at their table, smiling slightly.

"Uh…"

"You angling for a tip?" Dean asked with a smirk, obviously not finding the waitress sitting herself down as odd as Ariel thought it was.

She exchanged a look with Sam who's brow was creased with confusion. He didn't know what the hell was going on either.

"I'm sorry," the waitress said sweetly. "I thought you were looking for us."

She immediately flashed coal black eyes at them, making Ariel shift in her seat, her instincts willing her to stand, to get her weapon from her bag and _do something._ But Sam's hand shot out, gripping her firmly around her wrist and ceasing her movement. He tilted his head, gesturing behind her and Ariel turned in her seat, seeing that both the cook and the utility worker who had been eating at the bar.

As she watched, the utility worker stood, walking over to lock the door of the diner.

How in the hell was it that the Winchesters luck was so shitty that they ended up _alone_ in a diner full of demons?

"Dean," the demonic waitress purred, eyes returning to normal. "To hell and back. Aren't you a lucky duck?"

"That's me," Dean responded coolly.

Ariel had always admired how he could remain so calm in situations like these, bantering with the enemy. Meanwhile, she was sitting stark still in her seat, itching to pull the flask of holy water from her bag or to mutter just a little bit of Latin to get these demons gone for good.

But Sam's grip around her wrist was still tight, unrelenting, and the look he had given her had been clear. _Don't do anything._ Even if it did go against her very instincts as a hunter.

"So you just get to stroll out of the pit, huh? Tell me, what makes you so special?" The waitress asked.

"I like to think it's because of my perky nipples," Dean replied without missing a beat. "I don't know. Wasn't my doing. I don't know who pulled me out."

"Right," she scoffed disbelievingly. "You don't."

"No, I don't."

"Lying's a sin, you know," She said coyly.

"I'm not lying," Dean responded simply. "But I'd like to find out, so if you wouldn't mind enlightening me, _Flo…_ "

"Mind your tone with me, _boy._ I'll drag you back to hell myself."

She wasn't even trying to hide the threatening tone in her voice and, having just gotten her brother back Ariel was entirely unwilling to tolerate it. She shifted, moving as if to attack but Sam's grip tightened, almost to the point of being uncomfortable, and Ariel paused, half out of her seat as she glared at the demon.

"I'd like to see you try," She snapped, her tone cold as steel.

"Easy there, little rabbit," the demon sneered, looking more amused than anything. "You don't scare us."

"She should," Dean told her, tone deadly serious. "We all should. And we do. That's why you're empty threat will _stay_ empty. You won't drag me back to hell."

"I won't?"

"No, otherwise you would have done it already. Fact is, you don't know who cut me loose. And you're just as spooked as we are. And you're looking for answers," Dean said tauntingly, obviously finding the situation more amusing than anything. "Well, maybe it was some turbo-charged spirit. Or, uh, _Godzilla._ Or some big bad boss demon. I'm guessing at your pay grade they don't tell you squat. Because whoever it was, they want me out. And they're a lot stronger than you. So go ahead. Send me back. But don't come crawling to me when they show up at your front doorstep with some vaseline and a fire hose."

"I'm going to reach down your throat and rip out your lungs," the waitress growled, eyes narrowed dangerously.

Dean leaned towards her, the picture of calm, a pleasant little smile on his face. Then without warning, he lashed out, striking the demon across the face with his fist. When she made no move to attack back, he did it again.

Ariel, startled by the sudden attack jumped slightly, eyes round as she watched the scene unfold. Dean really was the most badass guy she knew.

The demon only half-heartedly glared at him and with a smirk, Dean stood, pulling his money out of his pocket and dropping a ten on the table.

"For the pie," he sneered before looking at Sam and Ariel. "Come on."

* * *

The sheets smelled vaguely of cheap laundry detergent and cigarette smoke. The mattress creaked every time she shifted. The pillows were lumpy. The blankets were scratchy and thin. In short, the beds the hotel had to offer were less than comfortable, and they certainly couldn't hold a candle to Ariel's bed at home. But it had been a long day and she was exhausted.

She had been asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

In her sleep came the dreams, flashes of golden fire and glowing white light and a face with burning blue eyes.

Ariel had never been the type to succumb to nightmares, she had been conditioned to deal with the monsters under her bed since she was very young, but this dream had her tossing and turning, tangling herself in the sheets.

If Dean or Sam had noticed, perhaps they would have woken her, shaking her from sleep with a worried look on their faces, but Dean was asleep in the other bed only a few feet away and Sam was gone, not asleep in the chair that he had been relegated to.

It was the sound of the television flicking on that woke her, making her bolt upright in bed, eyes stretching wide as she stared at the now familiar static, the last vestiges of her dream slipping away in favor of what was happening in reality.

"Dean," Ariel whispered, sitting stock still, fingers gripping tightly around the sheet.

A split second later the radio hummed to life, whining sharply and jolting Dean out of sleep. Her brother grabbed at the shotgun sitting by his bed and, following in her brothers lead, Ariel slipped her knife out from under her pillow.

Whatever this thing was it had managed to catch both Ariel and Dean by surprise.

"Where's Sammy?" Ariel asked quietly, finally noticing their brother was gone. Dean glanced at the chair, grimacing slightly when he saw that it was empty.

Suddenly the high-pitched noise started again, making both siblings wince as they covered their ears, Ariel looking desperately at Dean for some kind of direction. He was only covering his right ear, his free hand still gripping the shotgun.

The noise level grew higher, seeming to rattle in Ariel's bones and, finally, the mirror on the ceiling shattered, sending shards down towards them.

With a gasp, Ariel rolled out of the way, out from beneath the mirror. She hit the ground on the other side of the bed, crouching there between it and the wall, the noise still buzzing ominously.

The rest of the glass in the hotel room shattered then, and Ariel screamed, fear and surprise coursing through her. She ducked her head, tucking it between her knees as she curled into a fetal position.

Distantly she heard the sound of the door to the hotel room slam open. The noise still vibrated around her body and, with a start, Ariel realized her cheeks were wet. She had been _crying._

" _Ariel? Dean?"_

She heard her uncle yell out their names and with a sob she cried out for him, yelling his name over the white noise.

And then just as abruptly as it all started it stopped, leaving her ears ringing.

For a moment, Ariel stayed like that, in a fetal position, her senses slowly coming back to her.

Suddenly she felt ridiculous. She was a _hunter_ and yet here she was, crouching in the floor, terrified because of a static-y television and a little white noise.

But whatever logic she tried to apply to it, her limbs were still trembling, her heart still pounding in her chest.

"Ari," Dean called softly. There was the sound of crunching glass as he stood and started around the bed, towards her hiding spot.

Slowly, Ariel stood as well, swiping at her face to try and wipe away the very visible tear tracks there. A cut on her cheek stung from where she had been nicked by a shard of glass. Her uncle and brother looked at her in concern

"It was that _thing_ again," she said softly, wrapping her arms around herself. _"Castiel."_

* * *

"That's a hell of an art project you two have got going on?" Dean commented from where he stood by the table, examining the weapons they had assembled.

"Traps and talismans from every faith on the globe. Courtesy of Ari's research," Bobby explained, starting on another symbol.

"I'm nothing, if not thorough. How are you doing over there Dean?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder at her brother.

"Stakes, iron, silver, salt, knife. I mean we're pretty much set to kill anything I ever heard off."

But what about things they _hadn't_ heard off. Ariel didn't think that voicing that concern would help much and so she kept her mouth shut, continuing the task at hand.

"This is still a bad idea," Bobby said, expressing his doubt for the utmost time. Ariel couldn't help but agree with him.

"Yeah Bobby, I heard you the first time," Dean said, not disagreeing. "Now, you need to go wait in the car Ari," he added, just as Ariel finished the symbol she was working on.

She frowned, turning to face Dean with her brow furrowed slightly. She still held the can of white spray paint in her hand, having painted numerous symbols all over the ramshackle building.

"Huh?"

Bobby paused, turning to look away from the symbol he had been working on. From the look on his face, he could clearly tell that this conversation wasn't going to go well.

"It'll be safer."

"Screw safe!" Ariel snapped, slamming the can of spray paint down on the table. "You lied to Sam to keep him away and now you're sending me to the _car_? No, screw that Dean and screw you for thinking that I would walk out and leave you to summon this thing with just the two of you. I'm an adult Dean _and_ a hunter. I don't need you to protect me!"

"I saw you after what happened in the hotel room, Ariel. I'm not letting you anywhere near this thing." Dean responded back, making Ariel flush in embarrassment.

She wasn't _proud_ of how she had reacted in the hotel room but it wasn't like Dean always kept his composure either.

"Well," Ariel began. "It's a good thing it's not your decision. And it isn't yours either," she added when she saw Bobby open his mouth to say something. "I'm staying. Now, are we going to summon this thing or not?"

She stood there, looking between Dean and Bobby, crossing her arms over her chest, challenging either of them to say anything.

Dean stared at her, mouth open, clearly wanting to say _something._ But Ariel was a _Winchester_ , and if nothing else, stubbornness ran in the family. There would be no talking her out of this. Seeming to realize this, Dean sighed, running his hand over his face in exasperation.

"Fine,' he sighed grudgingly. "Let's summon this bastard."

With a satisfied smirk, Ariel watched as her Uncle walked over to the large bowl on the table, sprinkling salt into it from a smaller bowl and beginning to chant in Latin. The bowl began to smoke ominously.

Ariel bit her lip nervously, anticipation making her tense as she waited for her Uncle to finish the ritual. Slowly she placed a hand on the table, ready to lunge for one of the weapons as soon as _Castiel_ revealed himself.

Finally, Bobby finished the ritual, the smoke from the bowl dissipating quickly. He glanced up, looking at Ariel and Dean in confusion. Ariel wasn't sure what she had expected when he finished, but it certainly wasn't _silence._

There was literally nothing happened, everything remained calm in the room and the night outside the abandoned warehouse remained quiet. There was nothing out of the ordinary here, except for the three hunters in the old warehouse who were armed to the teeth.

"Well that was anticlimactic," Ariel said finally, putting into words what everyone else had been thinking.

"Where is this thing?" Dean growled, looking around the room as if expecting something to suddenly appear.

"Maybe he didn't get the memo," Ariel offered, not very helpfully. She sighed, hoisting herself up to sit on the edge of the table. "Should we try again?"

"Or we wait," Bobby suggested.

Dean, still glaring at the shadows in the corners of the room, sighed and turned to face them, shrugging. "Nothing else we can do. If it didn't work the first time why would it work the second time? Unless… are you sure you got the Latin right, Bobby."

"Boy, watch your mouth," Bobby growled, narrowing his eyes at him. "Of course my Latin was right."

"Okay, okay," Dean said, holding his hands up in surrender. "I was just checking."

"So we wait," Ari sighed. "I mean, that's what we do, right?"

"Yeah," Dean nodded. "That's what we do."

So that's what they did, the three of them sitting in silence as they waited for _something_ to happen. Ariel kicked her legs idly, eying the only entrance into the room.

"Did you get the ritual off the back of a cereal box, Uncle Bobby?" She asked, finally breaking the stifling silence.

Her uncle turned slowly to give her a look of disdain, clearly not amused.

As if on cue, the roof to the building began to rattle, catching them all by surprise.

The three immediately sprung into action, grabbing shotguns off the table and moving to the far end of the warehouse, opposite the door. This is what they had been waiting for all night and this thing had still managed to catch them by surprise.

"Wishful thinking," Dean said. "But maybe it's just the wind."

And then the door burst open, revealing a man wearing a long trench coat.

Ariel stared, her jaw dropping as she realized she _recognized_ him. Her dream, disjointed as it had been, came flooding back to her then and this man's face had been one of the things that had stuck out to her.

Slowly the strange man began to walk towards him, the lightbulbs over his head shattering as he moved passed them, making Ariel's stomach drop. This wasn't a _man._ This was something else entirely.

Spurred on by that thought, Ariel fired a shot, jolting both Dean and Bobby into action, the two of them fire as well, each bullet lodging itself into the strange man's torso but failing to hinder his movement.

"I didn't realize we were summoning _Michael freaking Myers!_ " Ariel gasped, lowering the gun when she ran out of bullets. Her blood ran cold as the man drew closer. All of their weapons were on the _other side of the damn room._

Dean stared, wide-eyed and slack-jawed as the man reached them, standing only a few feet away. "Who are you?" he asked, finally.

"I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition."

 _Oh._

"Castiel?" Ariel asked softly, her question ringing out in the room and drawing this man - this _thing's_ \- attention to her.

"Yes," he said slowly, and perhaps if Ariel were not so scared she would have been angry. _This_ was the thing that had blinded Pamela.

But this was also the reason that Dean was alive.

But really the only thing Ariel _could_ think about was the fact that she had seen him in her dream, could remember those blue eyes of his vividly, burning through her.

"I saw you," she managed finally. "In a dream."

Before Castiel could respond, Dean lunged forward, pulling out his demon-killing knife and lashing out with it, driving it deep into the man's chest where his heart would be.

Castiel frowned, looking down at the knife before looking back up at Dean in exasperation before slowly wrapping his fingers around the handle of the knife and pulling it out. Before he could do much else, Bobby rushed forward, swinging his now empty shotgun to attempt to hit Castiel over the head.

Instantly he turned, reaching up to grip the shotgun in one hand, completely stopping Bobby in his tracks, before reaching up to press two fingers to Bobby's head.

He crumpled, falling to the floor motionless.

Ariel let out a cry of shock, rushing forward to fall to her knees beside her uncle's body.

"Uncle Bobby?" She shook him, trying to get him to move or _something._ With shaking hands she reached up, placing a finger at his pulse point, terrified of what she might find there.

Had this thing, this _Castiel_ , killed her uncle? She couldn't lose Bobby, she just couldn't. He had raised her, had been the one to feed her and clothe her and take care of her. John Winchester may have been her father, but _Bobby Singer_ was her dad.

She released a breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding when she felt his pulse thumping steadily under her finger.

"He's okay," she told Dean, who had gone pale with worry himself.

"We need to talk Dean," Castiel said slowly, his tone ominous. He turned then to look at Ariel crouching on the floor. _"Alone."_

Ariel looked down at Bobby again, realization flickering across her face. She had only just started to scoot back across the floor to get away from him when he reached out towards her, brushing to fingers across her forehead, just as he had done with Bobby.

Abruptly, the world fell away around her, everything going dark as Ariel slumped to the floor of the warehouse in a dead faint.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Guess who is back with a new story! Now I know I haven't update anything else in a while but officially, everything else is on official hiatus while I write this story which has been in the works officially for months now.**

 **I'm so excited about this story guys! More excited than I've been about a project in a while. I love Ariel and I love this story and I hope you guys end up loving them as much as me. This is my first time delving into writing for the Supernatural fandom. Anyway guys, let me know what you think!**

 **I am probably being really optimistic saying I want to post weekly or, at the least, every other week but I am going to try to stay on top of it! Anyway, let me know what you think guys, and I'll be back soon with the next chapter.**

 **By the way, if you're interested in checking out any of the edits that have been made for this story, you can find them at . com!**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

" _No one ever does live happily ever after, but we leave the children to find that out for themselves."_

Stephen King

Ariel didn't think she had ever read the Bible.

It was the simple fact of the matter that she hadn't grown up religious. Hell, Ariel didn't even think she believed in God. Bobby had never taken her to church and Ariel had certainly never expressed any interest. The only Christian belief that Ariel really stood firm on was that Sunday was a day for rest.

Bobby had never been very religious and _John_ certainly hadn't been. Besides with all the bad things in the world that Ariel had grown up learning how to fight, it was very difficult to believe that there was some diving, holy being up above that was meant to embody all that was good. Besides, if God supposedly made mankind in his perfect image then he needed to get his eyes checked.

Ironically, Ariel had no problem believing in Hell. She had fought demons after all, and they had to come from _somewhere._

Pursing her lips slightly at the passage in the bible, Ariel couldn't help but wonder if God was really good at all. Turning Lot's wife into a pillar of salt just because she had dared to look back. All because he had told them not to. Wasn't curiosity a natural thing to feel? It seemed wrong to punish her for something so trivial.

"So God's kind of a dick," Ariel said, closing the Bible with a _thump_ and setting it on the couch next to where she sat.

"You've said that like ten times so far, Ari," Dean pointed out. "And stop researching angels. That's not what this is."

Ariel frowned, opening her mouth to respond but Sam cut her off.

"Well then, tell me what else it could be."

"Look, all I know is I _was not_ groped by an angel." Dean scoffed shaking his head.

Ariel frowned, shrugging slightly. "He _could_ be. There are still monsters that you don't know about, Dean."

"And why would this Castiel lie to you about it, anyway?" Sam asked skeptically.

"Exactly!"

"Maybe he's some kind of demon," Dean suggested. "Demons lie."

"Pretty sure if he is an angel, comparing him to a demon might be sacrilegious," Ari muttered, picking the bible up and standing, heading over to return it to an overfull bookshelf. Bobby snorted slightly in amusement at her words.

"I'm just saying. He could be!" Dean defended.

"A demon who's immune to salt rounds and devil's traps?" Sam asked. " _And_ Ruby's knife? Dean, _Lilith_ is scared of that thing."

"Don't you think that if angels were real, that some hunter somewhere would have seen one… at some point… ever?" Dean asked in exasperation.

"Dean… we _just_ did." Ariel pointed out.

"Right but you had seen him _before_ that, right? In a _dream._ At least that's what you told him. Don't think I've forgotten about that, Ari. What the hell was that about? Why didn't you tell us?"

Ariel blinked, staring at her brother before turning to look at her uncle helplessly, unsure of what to say here. But Bobby was looking at her with a sharp curiosity, and even Sam had leaned forward slightly in his seat, clearly interested in how she would answer.

The truth was she didn't understand why she had dreamed about him either, and it had definitely never happened before. Honestly, Ariel was just as confused as they were.

"Well I saw him in a dream in the hotel room right before the mirror over our heads shattered and almost _flayed_ us _Dean,_ and I didn't even realize it was him. I didn't even remember it until I saw him in the warehouse," She shrugged slightly, leaning back against the bookshelf.

"Have you had dreams like that before?" Dean asked.

Ariel knew what he was thinking. He was wondering if she was having visions like Sam used to. She could see the worry brewing behind Dean's eyes, could see it written in the hard line of his mouth.

"Never," Ariel told him. "If I had I would have told someone."

"Well while we're figuring out what the hell _Castiel_ is, we can also figure out why you're having dreams about him," Dean grumbled.

Ariel sighed heavily, shaking her head. She didn't understand why Dean refused to believe that Castiel was actually an angel. After all the things that they had fought, it didn't seem like that far of a stretch. Ariel wasn't exactly excited about it either, especially because acknowledging that Castiel was an angel meant acknowledging that _God_ was real too.

"We know what he is. You're just being stubborn," Ari argued. Sometimes the sheer bull-headedness of her brothers amazed her.

"And you're being naive," Dean shot back in a biting tone.

She frowned, staring at him for a long moment but he only set his jaw stubbornly as he stared back. Finally, Ariel looked away, pulling a book off the shelf before turning to stride out of the room, refusing to make eye contact with either Sam or Bobby.

"I'll be upstairs," she called over her shoulder.

She knew she was being silly, Dean was in a bad mood and his gruff attitude was nothing new, but they weren't usually directed at Ariel. As she started up the stairs, Ari couldn't help but wonder if Dean even knew he had been acting like a dick.

She entered her bedroom and tossed the book she had chosen onto her bed. Her bedroom was far more relaxing than the living room, with the controlled chaos of Bobby's many books. Her room was soft and comfortable and, more importantly, _organized._

She walked over to the window, pulling the lace curtains back, allowing more natural light to filter through. In here, amongst her pillows and blankets and candles and flowers, Ariel found it much easier to concentrate. There was also the added benefit of there being no asshole brother up here calling her _naive._

Ariel wasn't denying it, she knew she had a lot to learn, but Dean didn't have to say it in such a scathing tone. And he didn't have to treat her like a kid just because she was his younger sister. Sometimes Ariel wondered if he even realized that she was an _adult._ Ariel didn't know if it was because she was his younger or because she was his girl, and Dean still believed that girls needed to be looked after and protected _._

Walking back over to her bed, Ariel flopped down, grabbing her laptop from its place on her nightstand, opening it and turning it on. Probably, internet searching 'angels' would be a little faster than going through her uncle's books. If Dean was right about no hunters having run into angels then she wasn't sure how much lore Bobby would even have on them.

Sighing, Ariel leaned back against the pillows, settling in for the long haul. Research always took forever after all, and she was looking for any information available on angels.

* * *

There were very few nice things Bobby Singer had to say about John Winchester. The man was devoted, he supposed, and a damn good hunter. He had morals, never left a man behind.

But all of that seemed to pale in comparison to the fact that John Winchester was _not_ a good father.

Which was a shame really, because he had some damn fine kids. Sam was whip-smart and Dean was brave and dedicated.

And then there was Ariel.

Ariel who was impossibly kind and compassionate and caring and intelligent. Bobby loved Sam and Dean like his own, but with Ariel it was different. Ariel was _his._ He had raised her and taken care of her and would go through Hell a thousand times over if it meant he could keep her safe and taken care of.

He had been the one to teach her to roller skate and he had been the one to take her to play in the park when she was still wearing her hair in pigtails. Bobby had played the part of Santa when she was very small and Bobby had painstakingly painted her room pink and stuck the glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling. John hadn't done any of that.

Bobby understood that Dean was having a hard time accepting everything that was going on, but that wasn't an excuse to snap at his sister as he had. And Bobby told him as much after Ariel disappeared up to her room, despite the fact that Bobby knew that Dean felt bad about it as soon as he had seen the hurt flash across Ariel's face.

She always had worn her heart on her sleeve.

He rapped his knuckle lightly against her door, hearing light music playing from the other side. He held a travel mug full of hot chocolate in the other, her favorite drink and an attempt to put her in a better mood.

A moment later, his niece pulled the door open, peering up at him with narrowed eyes. When she realized it was him her expression softened. "What's up?" She asked, immediately zeroing in on the travel mug.

"Gotta go check on someone, Ari," Bobby told her. "Something's going on?"

She blinked, furrowing her brow in confusion as she turned her attention back to him. "What do you mean?"

"Olivia isn't answering her phone," Bobby explained to her, handing the hot chocolate over. "For the road," he added quickly.

"She's _still_ not answering?" Her concern was evident in her town. "Alright, gimme like five seconds," with that she disappeared back into her bedroom and closing the door behind her. The sound of the music ceased and a minute later the door opened again to reveal Ariel had changed out of her shorts and a tank top into jeans and combat boots and a flannel shirt, the universally accepted Hunter uniform.

"Let's go," she said quickly, walking past Bobby.

Bobby couldn't help but shake his head slightly in exasperation. People could say what they wanted about Ariel, but the girl had certainly grown into a devoted hunter, always ready to take on a new job. Even something as simple as going to check on a friend and she was ready and raring to go. Either way, he had to admire her energy.

"Is Jackass going?" Ariel asked over her shoulder before taking a sip of her hot chocolate, humming in appreciation.

"Yeah, he's downstairs waiting. He sent Sam on a snack run so when he gets back…"

"Is he still being a douche?"

Bobby snorted lightly. Ariel didn't see it, but she was a lot like her brothers. Maybe that was why the butted heads so often.

"He's calmed down," Bobby assured her.

Ariel didn't say anything else, hurrying down the stairs with her hot chocolate in hand. When Ari and Bobby reached the living room, Dean looked up from the book he had open on his lap, nodding his head towards the mug in her hand.

"I made that, you know," he said.

Ariel whipped around to face Bobby, expression accusing. "You didn't tell me that."

He shrugged helplessly. "You wouldn't have taken it," he told her quickly.

"It's a peace offering," Dean explained, "To make up for me being a-"

"Dick?" Ariel offered with a deadpan expression.

"Well… yeah."

Ariel turned to look at Dean for a long moment, before raising to mug to take a long drink. "Apology accepted," she said. "Even though you didn't actually apologize."

Ariel was smart enough to know that the hot cocoa was the closest she was going to get to an apology.

That's one area where the two differed, Ariel offered forth vulnerability far more willingly, apologizing for even the most inconsequential things. Forgot to take the chicken out to thaw before dinner. _Sorry, Uncle Bobby._ Returned a book to the wrong spot on the shelf. _Sorry, Uncle Bobby._ It amazed him sometimes how soft Ariel grew up to be. Soft and kind.

Not that Bobby was complaining, but the qualities were so rare to find in hunters he often worried about how Ariel would fare in the world. And he wasn't the only one who worried about it. He knew that both of her brothers worried, had talked to them both on separate occasions about it.

"So let's go," Ariel said, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet impatiently.

"We're waiting for Sam," Dean explained.

"And you're still researching?" Ariel gave Dean a surprised look, one that had Bobby snorting in amusement.

"That was the deal. Sammy goes to get pie and I stay here and do my homework."

"Still trying to play the 'it's anything _but_ an angel' angle?"

Dean groaned, bowing his head and shaking it slightly but didn't answer.

Bobby half suspected Ariel was purposefully prodding at Dean now, trying to irritate him in retaliation for earlier. Though she had accepted his unspoken apology, that didn't mean she wasn't going to let him off that easily.

With a smirk, Ari raised her mug to take another sip before pausing, turning her attention to the window. Through the glass, the Impala could clearly be seen, pulling up to the curb.

"Sammy's back," she announced. "Let's go."

With that she was heading towards the door, leaving Dean and Bobby to follow her.

"She's riding with you," Dean said grumpily as the fell in step with each other. "If she doesn't, she's going to spend the whole ride _trying_ to annoy me."

Bobby shrugged slightly before bobbing his head in agreement. "If you say so," he said, even though he knew as well as Dean that that statement was entirely true.

* * *

It was Ariel who was the first out of the car when they arrived at Olivia's house, opening her door and slipping out before her uncle even had his seatbelt off.

She had only been to Olivia's house a handful of times but had met the woman more frequently, mostly on hunts. Sometimes she would call Bobby asking for help and sometimes Bobby would call her though, more frequently, running into her happened entirely out of coincidence. Most of the time when Bobby and Ariel needed help on a hunt they just called Sam and Dean.

Ariel headed towards the trunk just as the Impala pulled in behind them, Sam and Dean getting out a moment later.

"Looks homey," Dean commented, looking up at the little house with a thoughtful expression.

Ariel rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what her brother's line of thinking was. He still struggled to wrap his head around the fact that he and Sam were the odd ones out when it came to having a permanent place to call home. She didn't understand why he thought it was so odd, perhaps because Dean hadn't lived in a _house_ since he was very young.

Opening the trunk, Ariel pulled out two shotguns, one for her and one for her uncle before grabbing a handful salt rounds from the old cardboard box where they kept them as well. Most of the monsters they fought on a regular basis wouldn't give a damn about regular rounds but at least a handful of them would be affected by salt rounds. it was better than nothing.

Wordlessly she held one of the shotguns out to Bobby as he moved to stand beside her, dropping a few of the salt rounds into his waiting palm.

"So who is this woman, anyway?" Sam asked as he approached, a gun of his own in hand.

"Hunter," Bobby answered simply.

"We met her a few years back on a werewolf hunt down in Indiana. We kinda saved her ass," Ariel clarified, beginning to load the rounds into the gun. She could have done it in her sleep, at this point.

 _That_ hunt had been particularly bad. Ariel had been the one to find it and had approached her Uncle with her evidence, already suspecting it was a werewolf. They hadn't realized that it was a whole _pack_ of them. A pack that had apparently been determined to expand their ranks with _teenagers._

They had met Olivia shortly after arriving in the town, having been directed her way by the locals. She hadn't been happy for their help then but after they saved her from becoming a werewolf herself she had been far more welcoming.

Like most of the hunters Ariel had met, Olivia was rough around the edges, hardened, Ariel guessed, as all hunters were, by the _things_ she had hunted and the people she couldn't save.

Well, all hunters _besides_ Ariel. Bobby had done a phenomenal job up until now of shielding Ari from the worst of it. Truth be told, there _wasn't_ anyone yet who she had been unable to save and it was hard to be scarred from the monsters that she had been learning about for her whole life. She was lucky in that way, she supposed.

"Well gentlemen," she said, cocking her gun. "Shall we?"

Without waiting for a response, Ariel started towards the front door, moving swiftly, easily, the way Bobby had taught her how. This came second nature to her now. She knew the others were behind her, knew they had their guns ready to shoot in case there was some big bad beastie waiting for them on the other side of the door.

A door that was _locked_ apparently, Ariel realized as she turned to nod, turning to look at the others with raised brows. Most monsters didn't bother to _lock_ the door behind themselves if they came through the door at all. It was possible they came in through the back door, but Sam had already veered off the path disappearing around the corner of the house. When he reappeared a moment later, shaking his head, Ari knew that wasn't the case.

Bobby reached up, into a hanging potted plant next to the front door, fishing around for a moment, before withdrawing his hand with a key gripped in it. Ari wasn't sure how he knew about it, but probably Olivia had told him. _Just in case._

It was a good thing too, Ariel decided a moment later when the front door swung open into darkness because a busted in front door would only draw unwanted attention.

Allowing her uncle to slip inside first, Ariel fell into step behind him.

Looking around, everything _appeared_ normal. Nothing out of place, everything where it was supposed to be. Was it possible that Olivia was simply on a hunt and unable to answer their ca-

" _Oh,"_ She had frozen behind Bobby as they rounded the corner of the kitchen to peer into the living room, where Olivia lay unmoving and bloody.

Ariel's stomach turned and before she knew what she was doing she had lowered her gun and turned to lurch away, headed towards the bathroom.

She shoved the door open, not bothering to turn on the light and fell to her knees in front of the toilet before emptying to contents of her stomach inside.

She had seen worse. Inarguably, she had definitely seen far worse scene spread out before her as a hunter. But it was different, seeing someone that she knew and liked lying in a pool of their own blood. It was different, thinking that she had maybe shown up to help save her poor friend from death only to find that the friend was already dead.

They were supposed to _save_ people, not find the bodies.

"Ari?"

She looked up, wiping at her mouth with her hand, to find Bobby standing in the doorway of the bathroom. He looked distinctly disgusted, but also worried.

"I'm fine," Ariel said. A _lie._ She obviously was _not_ fine. She had been unable to look at the dead body of her friend without rushing away to vomit. That was not the sign of a good hunter. But even Bobby looked very pale like he could throw up any moment himself, and maybe Ariel was being too hard on herself.

"I'm fine," She repeated, standing up and flushing the toilet. She flicked the light on, peering at herself in the mirror over the sink. She would regain her composure, she decided, and then she would go do what they had come here to do.

"Are you okay, Uncle Bobby?" She asked, glancing at him through the mirror. He was leaning heavily against the door frame, still fighting the urge to puke maybe, or grasping with the moral weight of being unable to save Olivia that was suddenly pressing down on his shoulders.

Maybe both.

"Fine," he said. "I'm not the one who-" he paused, seeming to think better of his words, and instantly shut his mouth.

Probably not to upset her, Ariel decided. Even though she was clearly already upset. She turned the water on in the sink, setting her shotgun against the wall before washing her hands and splashing water on her face.

"Okay," Ariel said, taking a deep breath. "Let's go figure out what killed Olivia."

With that she picked up her shotgun once again before moving past her uncle, pausing only to pat him once on the shoulder in a consoling manner. _Fake it until you make it,_ she told herself, offering him a sad smile. "We'll kill whatever it was."

She strode past him, back through the kitchen and into the living room where Sam and Dean were looking around. As she passed Olivia's body, she avoided looking at it.

"Well," she began, catching their attention. "What do we think?"

"I think you can go wait outside if you want, Ariel," Sam offered kindly. "You don't have to do this."

Just being in the same room as Olivia's body was making her feel queasy, especially since she could see the deep wounds that had likely killed her from the corner of her eye. But the expression on Sam's face when he looked at her sent a new steely resolve through her. Neither of her brothers thought she could do this, she knew. They thought she was emotional and soft and _naive,_ and while yes those things were all true she was also a _hunter._ Even if she _couldn't_ do this, she _had_ to.

They didn't understand that. John Winchester had never looked at them with doubt in his eyes. Dean and Sam had been his boys, they had been on the road with him. Hunting had been their lifeblood. But Ariel had been kept away, taught from the safety of a home. She had had holidays and birthdays. She had had an _option,_ perhaps more than either of them and this was still the choice she made, the choice she would always make.

"Yes," she said firmly. "I do. _So,_ what are we thinking?"

Dean raised his hand, showing Ariel the EMF reader. "Ghost, probably." He said.

"Vengeful spirit," Ariel guessed.

"I called some hunters nearby," Bobby said from behind them, catching their attention. He stood in the kitchen, cellphone in his head. He was still avoiding looking at Olivia's body, Ariel noticed, suddenly not feeling quite so bad about how she had reacted.

"Good," Dean replied. "We could use their help."

"Except they're not answering," Bobby continued.

His words sent a cold feeling of dread down Ariel's spine. "None of them?" She asked, concern evident in her voice.

Bobby slowly shook his head.

"Something's up, huh?" Sam asked, gesturing vaguely in the direction of Olivia's body.

"You think?" Bobby scoffed, before turning to leave the room once more. Ariel glanced back once, at her brothers, before hurrying after her uncle.

"What do you think it is, Uncle Bobby?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied as he made his way to the front door, stepping out into the sunlight. "Something to do with Dean and this _angel_ business, maybe. Nothing is ever a coincidence. Either way, nothing good."

Ariel sighed heavily. "It never is."

* * *

"Glad to hear you're okay, Ellen. Was just checking in," Ariel said, balancing her phone between her cheek and shoulder. This was not the first call she had made, but Ellen was one of the few who had answered. "If there are any hunters you can think of, could you call and check on them? There's something weird happening, and we're pretty sure it's targeting hunters. I'd really appreciate it."

She had a book of lore opened up on Bobby's desk, and had been flipping through trying to find out what was going on but had been largely unsuccessful.

" _Sure Ariel,"_ Ellen replied. _"I'll let you know what I find out."_

"Thanks," Ariel leaned back in the desk chair, running a hand over her face, tired and irritated. This was shaping up to be a hell of a long day. "Be careful, Ellen. You and Jo watch your backs."

" _You too, Ari,"_ Came Ellen's reply before the line went silent and Ariel closed her cell phone, placing it on the table.

"I don't know, but until we find out, you guys better get your asses to my place," Bobby said as he walked into the living room, his own phone pressed to his ear.

Ariel glanced up as he walked in, watching as he flipped his cell phone shut a moment later, sighing heavily.

"Well?" She prompted.

"Jed is dead too," he responded.

Ariel winced. They had already found two other hunter friends of their's dead in their homes as well. The number was up to four now, and those were just ones she knew about.

"The Frielings are okay. Ellen and Jo are okay too," Ariel said. "That's good news, at least."

"Better news would be us figuring out what the hell is behind this and how to stop it." Bobby sighed. "I don't guess you've found anything, have you?"

"No," Ari rested her chin in her palm, flipping idly to the next page in the book. "I don't even know what exactly I'm looking for. All signs point to a vengeful spirit. We know about those. So I'm looking at other kinds of spirits but...well, that's kind of like trying to find a very specific piece of hay in a haystack."

Bobby frowned, looking torn. "Sam and Dean are on their way back," he said finally. "We'd better batten down the hatches until we figure out what the hell is going on."

"I guess it's too much to hope that our new angel friend will help us out," Ariel mused, standing. "I'll go get the bags of salt out of the basement."

She didn't wait for her uncle to respond, already turning away to head to the basement door, flicking the light switch by the door before starting down.

The stairs creaked eerily under each step and the whole place smelled musty. Regardless, Ariel didn't mind being down here all that much. This was, after all, her house. She had never felt in danger here.

She reached the landing and began sorting amongst the shelves. She knew the bags were down here because she had helped her uncle bring them down more than a year prior when Lilith had first presented herself as a threat.

 _There!_

She grabbed one of the bags, hauling it up into her arms and buckling slightly under the weight. She had forgotten how big they were.

Starting towards the stairs, Ariel froze when the single light hanging from the ceiling of the basement began to flicker ominously.

 _Shit…_

"Uncle Bobby?" She called as she hurried up the stairs, a chill running up her spine.

It was getting very cold, Ariel noticed, as she drew closer to the landing her breaths became visible.

" _Uncle Bobby?"_ She called again, more frantically now.

She burst through the door, out into the hallway and immediately dropped the heavy bag of salt next to the door.

Whatever had killed those other hunters was here now, Ariel was sure of it, and they still didn't know how the fuck to stop it.

The sound of giggling made her tense and a small ball caught her attention from the corner of her eye. It rested at the foot of the stairs, innocent and unassuming, but Ariel hadn't played with balls since she was very small and there was certainly no reason for once to be in the house.

First, she needed to find her Uncle and make sure he was okay and then they needed to get ahold of Sam and Dean and make sure they hauled ass back to the house.

" _Ariel?!"_

The sound of her uncle's familiar voice had her jolting forward, around to corner and into the living room to find Bobby backed up against the fireplace, one hand grasping for the fireplace poker blindly, his eyes set on two little girls standing before him.

He looked very pale, Ariel noticed and horrified by the spirits standing in front of him.

Finally, Bobby wrapped his fingers around the fireplace poker, lifting it and lashing out at the spirits in one fluid motion. The poker slipped through their forms, the spirits dissipating as it passed through.

"Little ghost girls have been killing everybody?" Ariel asked immediately, rushing to her Uncle's side. She knew enough about spirits to know that the iron would take care of any immediate problems but it wouldn't keep them away for long. "Pretty sure if we had known _that_ I would have been able to find something in the damn book."

"No, Ari," Bobby shook his head. "They….I…"

"Uncle Bobby?" Ariel prompted, looking at him in concern.

He gripped the fire poker in his hand tighter and took a deep breath. "I know them," he said finally. "A monster I was hunting killed them."

"Oh," Ari blinked, staring at him, unsure what to say.

Honestly, the thought of her Uncle Bobby being unable to save anybody was jarring. He was a _hero._ Hunting is what he did. Bobby Singer was the best hunter that Ariel knew and yet he had not be able to save two little girls. It seemed like such a foreign concept to Ari. Bobby Singer couldn't save two innocent kids from the monster hiding under their bed or in their closet. Nope, sorry. Not her Uncle. You must have mistaken him for something else.

And yet the two child spirits appearing to Bobby at all was evidence to the contrary. He had been trying to kill the thing that had killed them and couldn't do it quick enough and they had died because of it and now… what? They were pissed and back for revenge?

"You got the salt?" Bobby asked, drawing her attention back to him.

"Yeah it's by the door to the basement," Ariel nodded. "If they're upset at _you_ Uncle Bobby I should be able to get it without them bothering me, right?"

He looked unsure, furrowing his brow slightly in concern, clearly not keen on the thought of Ariel leaving his side while they were still not entirely sure what they were dealing with.

"Look, I'm faster than you Uncle Bobby, we _both_ know that. I go grab it and we make a salt circle and we're safe. Or...safer than we would be without one. The longer we stand here arguing the less time we've got before they come back. It's literally like ten feet away Uncle Bobby!"

She glared at him as if daring him to try to stop her. He said nothing and so she whipped around, already moving back in the direction she had come from.

Things were just as she had left them, the large bag of salt sitting by the open basement door, and as she approached, Ariel felt relief flood through her. They had been on guard and so they would fare better than their hunter friends had.

The sound of giggles behind her had her freezing, before turning to face the two little ghost girls who had appeared behind her, gripping each other's hand and offering Ariel a smile that, if they hadn't been on murderous child spirits, might have come across as innocent.

 _Shit._

"Uncle Bobby!" She cried out, taking a step back, away from the spirits. She had no weapon and she didn't think she was imagining the devilish glint in their eyes as their forms flickered before appearing closer to her.

"He left us to die," the girls spoke in unison, sending a chill up Ariel's spine. "He _deserves_ to die too."

" _Ariel!"_

Her uncle had barrelled into the hallway, brandishing the fire poker like a sword, but he was too late. The spirits had already sent Ariel flying back, through the open basement door and into the darkness beyond. She let out a startled gasp and, a moment after she went careening through, the basement door shut with a deafening slam.

* * *

Dean and Sam entered the house slowly, guns cocked and ready as they paced through the living room, moving methodically.

Ariel and Bobby were nowhere to be seen and as they advanced further into the house, a heavy weight settled in his stomach. What if they were too late. What if Bobby and Ariel had been hurt? Or worse…

On Bobby's desk in the living room, a large book sat open and Dean instantly recognized it as one of the many books Bobby and Ariel often used for research.

" _Dean!"_

He turned to see Sam leaning down to pick up the iron fire poker that had been tossed haphazardly on the rug. Seeing the poker was enough to jolt Dean into action as he began to move through the house.

" _Bobby!"_ He yelled. _"Ariel!"_

There was no response, but Dean hadn't really expected one. In the living room, Sam was shuffling through the living room, probably looking for some kind of evidence of where his sister and her uncle had disappeared to.

Dean went up the stairs two at a time, footsteps thudding dully in the silence of the house.

He reached the landing and thundered down the hall, throwing doors open as if Bobby or Ariel would appear. He reached Ariel's bedroom and opened that door as well, sunlight filtering innocently through the lace curtains hanging in the window.

Everything in the room screamed _Ariel,_ from the painting easel set up in the corner to the stuffed unicorn that Dean had won Ari at a carnival when she was very young that sat amongst the pillows on the bed despite the fact that Ariel was no longer a child.

Dean had half-expected to find Ariel hear, huddling under her bed perhaps, wrapped in her pink comforter and clutching that stupid stuffed unicorn in her arms. He had found her like that more times than he could count after she had had a nightmare when she had been growing up, and Dean suspected Bobby had found her like that even more often when Sam and Dean had not been around.

Ariel wasn't here though and the absence of Dean's little sister made his heart drop. He didn't know why Ariel _not_ being hidden somewhere in her room like a small child felt like such a bad sign. Ariel was smart after all, and despite Dean's overprotective nature, she _was_ a good hunter. She would know better than to try to hide under her bed or in her closet.

She would _fight,_ but somehow that made Dean worry even more.

" _Dean!"_ He heard Sam's voice calling him from downstairs. _"Dean, get down here!"_

* * *

" _Bobby! Ariel!"_

The first thing Ariel noticed when she opened her eyes was darkness pressing in all around her. Her head hurt like hell, and her arm was throbbing.

For a moment it took a moment for everything to come back to her but once it had she jolted upright, getting to her feet. The ghosts girls had sent her toppling back into the darkness of the basement and Ariel had fallen back before landing on the dirt floor of the basement, which had _fucking hurt_ by the way, and on the way down she had hit her head and gotten knocked out apparently and now…

Well she maybe had a concussion, but the more pressing issue was finding her Uncle and making sure he was okay.

From above her head, Ariel heard the thudding sound of footsteps and reached out in the darkness, finding the railing of the stairs. It was dark down here but not pitch black and she could see the barest outline of her surroundings.

The ghosts had knocked her down into the basement but had left her there. They had not attacked her afterward which seemed strange because Ariel had been completely vulnerable.

" _Hello?"_ She called, her voice echoing in the silence of the basement. _"I'm down here!"_

" _Ariel?!"_

The sound of Sam's familiar voice had Ariel sighing in relief and she immediately started up the stairs of the basement as the sound of footsteps rushing to the basement door reverberated from above.

Before she had even reached the top stoop, the basement door opened, bathing Ariel in bright light that made her wince.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked urgently as she stepped out of the basement, placing a hand to her forehead. When she pulled it back she saw that there was blood.

"I've been better," Ariel admitted, turning to face him.

He frowned, reaching forward to brush his fingers gently over the wound on her head, pulling his fingers away when he saw her wince slightly.

" _Dean!"_ Sam yelled suddenly. _"Get down here!"_

The sound of footsteps thundering down the upstairs hallway was the only response and a moment later Dean appeared from upstairs, relief flooding his face when he saw Ariel standing in front of Sam, one hand pressed to her poor, aching head while her other arm was held at an awkward angle, blood still oozing from the gash on her forearm.

Without a word, Dean closed the space between them in a few long strides and pulled Ariel into his arms, enveloping her in a hug. He rested his chin on her head and for a moment just hugged her.

Ariel could feel her brother's rapid heartbeat through his chest and from the way he was hugging her, as if he were afraid to let her go, it was easy to tell just what kind of thoughts had been running through his head.

"I'm alright," she assured him. "I'm alright, Dean."

"What happened?" He asked finally, pulling her back and holding her at arm's length.

"We were researching," Ari began. "I went down into the basement to get a bag of salt and when I got back Uncle Bobby was being attacked by two little ghost girls. They knocked me back into the basement and I hit my head. Where… where is Uncle Bobby?"

She was hopeful that perhaps they had run into him on their way into the house and that he was somewhere else now, dealing with the problem, but the look on Dean's face was enough to tell her that that was _not_ the case.

Shit.

"We have to find him," Ariel said immediately, stepping out of Dean's grip. "Before it's too late."

* * *

The worst part about these little girls was that they reminded Bobby of Ariel when she was young.

That wasn't so unusual, Bobby figured. After all, a lot of children reminded Bobby of how his niece had been at their age. But with these two girls… well, it was different.

Everything from their dark hair to the soft curve of their cheeks made him think of Ariel when she had still been young enough to play with her dolls in front of his desk while he had been doing research. It was this uncanny resemblance that made this whole thing worse because Bobby knew something had to be done about these little ghost girls.

Which seemed wrong somehow. He had already been the cause of their death once, even if it had not been on purpose. It seemed poetically appropriate in a way.

"Are you scared, Bobby?" One of the girls asked, peering down at him with a dangerous expression.

"We were scared, Bobby." The other chimed in.

For a moment he thought of the first time he had ever watched _The Shining_ , when the two little ghost girls appeared at the end of the hallway, asking Danny to play with them forever and ever.

The mental comparison certainly did not help to make Bobby feel any safer.

"When the monsters came for us… and grabbed us tight," The first girl continued.

"And we couldn't even scream. You were right there, Bobby." Her sister picked up right where she had left off.

In some other situation, their finishing each other's sentences might have been seen as cute, but right now it only felt menacing.

"You were in the house."

"You were so close."

" _Uncle Bobby?"_

The sound of Ariel calling for him made Bobby visibly sag in relief. He had been so worried after he had seen her fall back into the darkness of the basement. The door had slammed shut after her and no matter how badly Bobby wanted to run after his niece, there had been too vengeful spirits separating him from her.

"You could have saved us, Bobby." One of the ghost girls hissed.

" _We're here, Bobby."_

That was Sam's voice, Bobby realized, and it sounded very close. If only Bobby could move or do something to get their attention.

"You walked right past that door," One of the sisters reminded him as if it was not one of the many things that haunted his sleep at night.

"The monster had us. And you didn't find us."

"And now they won't find you."

* * *

The fact that Ariel could see her breath was enough to tell her that _something_ was nearby. Biting her lip, Ariel turned to exchange a look with Sam.

He looked just as worried as her, she noticed, but that was unlikely, considering Ariel felt like she could burst into tears at any second and she couldn't imagine either of her brothers crying really, even if logically she knew she had seen them cry before. Hell, Sam himself had been crying right beside Ariel four months prior when they had been looking down at Dean's dead body.

"We'll find him," Sam said, placing a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "He has to be around here somewhere."

 _Right._ He had to be because Bobby was nowhere in the house. Which Ariel had tried to tell Dean, but he had insisted on double checking, and finding her uncle was far more important than arguing with Dean.

" _Uncle Bobby?"_ Ariel called again, staring down the pathway they were currently headed down between towers of derelict cars.

Ariel spent a lot of time out here, working in the junkyard. Between working on cars or taking them apart, this was one of the places Ariel felt most comfortable. She had never felt _threatened_ out here, and for a moment she was filled with such a strong feeling of resentment that it scared her. This was her _home_ and these spirits had invaded it, had made Ariel feel like prey in the one place where she was supposed to feel most comfortable.

Ariel turned to start down another pathway and froze when a reflection in another car's window caught her eye. She reached out wordlessly to grip Sam's arm, stopping him in his tracks and tilting her head to the window where she could see the reflection of the two little ghost girls hiding in one of the cars that was at the top of one of the nearby stacks.

Ariel didn't wait for Sam to try to tell her what to do, she was already moving, slinging her shotgun that she had grabbed before coming outside across her back and beginning her precarious climb up the tower of cars.

She could think of only a handful of times that she had attempted this, and every single time, Ari had been much younger than she was now, naive and confident in the fact that she was a child and therefore invulnerable.

But she had no misconceptions now. If she fell now, _at best_ it would hurt like hell. At worst… well, better to not think about it. Either way, it would make her fall into the basement seem like a kiddie ride at _Disney World._

A few feet away, Sam had started his own ascent up the tower of cars, and wordlessly the two siblings made their way to the car at the very top.

A sinking feeling settled in the pit of Ariel's belly. What if they were too late. What if Bobby was already dead. _What if. What if. What if._

She had to stop overthinking it. She had to focus on the task at hand, and right now that meant saving her uncle and stopping whatever the hell was going on. With that steely resolve, climbing suddenly seemed as if it was a lot easier.

Sam reached the top before Ariel did, not that it was surprising, and the sound of him prying the car door open with his crowbar was the only thing Ariel needed to know that the fight was about to start, whether she was there or not.

A moment later, she reached the top car, just in time to watch one of the ghost girls send her brother toppling out of the car.

" _SAM!"_

Ariel didn't see where her brother had landed but a second later she had reached the top car in time to see one of the ghost girls jump on her uncle, making her heart clench in her chest. The other one was nowhere to be seen and Ariel could only hope that her brother had dealt with it, at least temporarily, before he had fallen.

Her uncle was grappling with the other one but didn't seem to be having much luck. Ari shifted into a more stable position before sliding her shotgun from where it was strapped across her back.

The sound of the shot rang out, echoing amongst the tower of cars as the salt round went through the ghost girl that was bearing down on her uncle with a truly frightening expression. She disappeared as the bullet passed through her, leaving Bobby panting.

"Are you okay?" Ariel asked as she peered into the car, eyes wide with worry.

Bobby sat up, turning to look at her and offering a simple nod.

Of course he was okay. There was no other choice.

"Sam, are you okay?" Ariel called out, hoping he would be able to answer.

"Fine," his response came a second later, causing Ariel to sigh in relief.

"We should get back to the house," She told her uncle, sliding her arm back through the shotgun strap, allowing it to hang across her back once more. "Gotta make sure Dean is okay."

With that, she began her precarious climb back down the tower of cars, longing to be back on solid ground. She knew, if she had not been anticipating the recoil from her shotgun she could have easily fallen back and gotten very hurt. She also knew that one move when climbing up or down and the very same thing could have happened. In short, she had gotten pretty lucky so far today. Ariel knew there were plenty of instances when she could have gotten very hurt or worse.

She could only hope that her luck didn't run out.

* * *

Dean was waiting for the others when they got back to the house, his eyes looking each of them over critically.

He looked pretty roughed up himself, Ariel noticed, eying him with curiosity.

"What happened?" She asked as they entered the living room.

"Henrikson and the ghost girls aren't the only pissed of spirits we have to deal with," He explained, expression sour.

"Who else?" Sam asked, furrowing his brow in surprise.

"Meg."

"That demon bitch that tried to send those shadow things after you guys?" Ariel asked in surprise, looking between her brothers. "The one who attacked us _here_ that we exorcised?"

"Not the demon," Dean explained. "The girl she possessed."

"And she attacked you?" Bobby deducted quickly.

"Yeah. Sorry about your chandelier, by the way."

"What happened to our chandelier?" Ariel asked incredulously.

"It was iron," Dean said with a shrug as if that was all the explanation he needed to give.

Somehow, Ariel got the feeling that she and her Uncle would have some home repair things to take care of in the next few days.

"So all of them are people we know," Sam realized, expression thoughtful.

"People you knew," Ariel corrected. "Because they're all dead, right? The ghost girls, Henrikson, Meg. They're all people you know that died."

"No," Dean blinked, looking as if something was only just dawning on him. "They're all people we couldn't save."

"That would make sense," Ariel mused with a nod. "Especially because there isn't a pissed off ghost for me. There isn't anyone I haven't been able to save." She added quickly.

She felt bad as soon she said it. She hadn't meant it in a mean way, she had only been stating a fact. But when she saw their expressions as soon as she had finished speaking, she knew they had taken it harshly. It was the damn guilt complex she knew they all possessed. Ariel knew that neither of her brothers or Bobby took the deaths of the people they had been trying to save lightly. Hell, Ariel probably wouldn't either.

They had been hunting a lot longer than her, had been in far worse situations. There had been way more scenarios in which they would be unable to save someone. Not that Ariel was going to tell them this. Instead, she offered them a tight-lipped smile and a mumbled, "Sorry."

"Did Meg have a tattoo when she was alive?" Dean asked, moving quickly past the awkward subject. They did have other things to worry about, and the longer they lingered on things the more likely it was for the ghosts to come back again.

"I don't think so," Sam answered. "Why?"

"There was like a-a mark like a brand on her hand," Dean told them.

"I saw a mark, too, on Henrikson," Sam said quickly.

"What did it look like?" Bobby asked.

"Uh, paper?"

Ariel grabbed a blank scrap of paper and a pencil from where it lay, relegated to the corner of Bobby's desk in favor of the research that took up the majority of the surface. Sam took it, laying it out flat on the surface of the desk and beginning to sketch quickly before holding it up for the others to see.

"That's it," Dean said immediately as he peered at it.

Ari furrowed her brow, staring at it long and hard. It looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place where she recognized it from.

"Oh hell," Bobby groaned from beside her, running a hand down his face in exasperation.

"Uncle Bobby?" Ariel looked at him curiously, recognizing the look on his face. Whatever this mark was, it wasn't good.

"I may have seen this before," Bobby said quickly. "We gotta move." He started towards the basement door, pausing only to grab a stack of books from where they had been precariously stacked in a nearby chair before hurrying along, leaving the others to follow behind him.

Ariel fell into step behind him immediately, already knowing where he was headed.

"Okay, where are we going?" Sam asked, following close behind Ariel, Dean right beside him.

"Someplace safe," Ariel said, tilting her head in the direction of the basement.

Both of her brothers looked confused which made Ari smirk slightly in satisfaction.

* * *

Sam rotated slightly, taking in the room that he had been led to. Dean stood by his side, a similar expression of surprise on his face.

"Is this… "

"Solid iron. Completely coated in salt. 100% ghost proof." Bobby said automatically, looking through one of the books he had brought down with them.

Ariel had seated herself cross-legged on the bed in the center of the room and had another book open in her lap. She was flipping through the pages with her brow creased in concentration.

"You built a panic room?" Sam asked. It wasn't _such_ a surprising concept, he realized. This _was_ Bobby, after all.

" _We_ built a panic room," Ariel corrected, not looking up from her book. "We had a weekend where we weren't on a hunt."

"Guys," Dean said, grabbing their attention and making both Bobby and Ariel look up at him expectantly. "You two are awesome."

Ari smirked slightly before looking back down at the book once more.

Sam watched as Dean wandered around, looking around curiously, stopping when he saw a poster of a bikini model hung up. He smirked slightly, turning to catch Sam's eye and tilting his head towards it, expression appreciative.

Sam snorted, shaking his head in exasperation. It was strange, seeing the stark contrast in his siblings. Ariel had immediately seated herself and began diligently looking through a book while Dean was looking around the panic room like he was in a damn museum.

"Get to work on some salt rounds, you two," Bobby advised gruffly, gesturing over to a work table which, Sam noticed, had just about everything they would not.

Bobby always came prepared.

For a while, they stayed like that. Bobby and Ariel flipping determinedly through pages in their books while Sam and Dean packed salt rounds. The silence could have been comforting, but instead, Sam just felt unsettled. They would be safe in this room, but something still felt off.

It felt almost as if they had come to hide down here with their tails tucked between their legs.

It was Dean who finally broke the silence.

"See, this is why I can't get behind God."

The others looked up at the sudden intrusion of the silence, all turning to look at Dean curiously.

Sam already had some idea of where Dean would likely steer this conversation. Probably, it would have been better for him to say nothing at all, but he couldn't help himself.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"If he doesn't exist, fine. Bad crap happens to good people," Dean began, obviously setting himself up for a long rant. He stared down at his lap, mouth tightened into a thin line and brow creased in frustration. "That's how it is. There's no rhyme or reason - just random, horrible, evil - I get it, okay? I can roll with that. But if he is out there, what's wrong with him? Where the hell is he while all these decent people are getting torn to shreds? How does he live with himself? You know, why doesn't he help?"

In the silence that followed Sam realized suddenly that Dean was hoping for some kind of answer, and it seemed the others had none to give. Sam shifted uncomfortably in his seat, not quite sure what to say. He knew whatever words he tried to comfort Dean with, his brother would just shrug them off, scoff at Sam and tell him he was full of shit.

And maybe he was, but sometimes it felt like the only thing that got Sam through the hard days was his faith that he clung to so adamantly. He had been praying to God for as long as he could remember, and while most of those prayers had gone largely unanswered, all of the important ones seemed to have gotten through.

The most important one, of course, was the prayer that his brother and sister, the two people Sam loved most in the entire world, would be alive and well. And here Dean was, sitting in front of him, freshly restored from Hell, and it felt like a damn miracle.

But Dean wouldn't understand all of that. Dean had never believed in God. Whatever evil was done in the world, it's just the way things were. For a moment, Sam was struck with the thought that perhaps Dean not believing in God was better than him throwing all the blame for the bad shit that happened at him.

"I ain't touching this one with a 10-foot pole," Bobby said, perfectly summarizing what Sam was thinking.

It was Ariel who stood, looking at Dean with a tender, thoughtful expression. She approached him, placing a hand gently on his shoulder and offered him a small, sad smile. "Like I said before," she began. "God is a dick."

Dean snorted slightly, Ariel's words managing to get a small grin from him.

"Found it," Bobby said suddenly, drawing their attention to him as his eyes darted over the page he had turned to in his book.

"What?" Sam asked.

Bobby approached them, closing the distance between himself and the siblings in three long strides, pointing at the image in the books.

"The symbol you saw - the brand on the ghosts… "

The image he was pointing to was a significantly better illustration than the one Sam had drawn upstairs.

Ariel sucked in a breath, reaching to take the book from her Uncle and looking the page over.

"' _Mark of the Witness',_ " she read. She looked up at Bobby in confusion. "Witness of what? What does it mean?"

"The unnatural," Bobby began. "None of them died what you'd call ordinary deaths. See, these ghosts - they were forced to rise. They woke up in agony. They were like rabid dogs. It ain't their fault. Someone rose them… on purpose."

"Who?" Sam asked.

Bobby scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Do I look like I know? But whoever it was used a spell so powerful it left a mark, a brand on their souls. Whoever did this had big plans. It's called 'The rising of the Witnesses'. It figures into an ancient prophecy."

"They made these poor souls _murder_ for them?" Ariel pursed her lips slightly, expression angry. "So they might not even actually blame any of you for their deaths at all."

Leave it to Ariel to hope for something as innocent as that. She might not have ever had to deal with the death of someone she was meant to save firsthand, but she was smart enough the understand that they would have all been feeling guilty. _That's_ what she was worried about, them blaming themselves too heavily for something that probably couldn't have been helped anyway. Sam felt a sudden rush of affection for his sister.

"Wait, wait. What book is that prophecy from?" Dean asked, looking between Bobby and Ariel.

"Well, the widely distributed version's just for tourists, you know. But long story short - _Revelations._ This is a sign."

"A sign of what?" Sam and Dean asked in unison.

A split second later, Ariel's sharp intake of breath made them both turn to look at her in concern. Her gaze was set on the book and she had tugged her bottom lip between her teeth, a nervous habit she had.

"The Apocalypse," she said softly.

* * *

The word felt foreign, dirty in her mouth. Every big bad thing any of them had ever hunted had seemed normal, run-of-the-mill. That's just what their life was.

But the _Apocalypse._ There had never been a situation where they thought that _that's_ the thing they needed to be worried about. Vampires, sure. Djinn, totally. The _end of the world_? That was the kind of stuff that was meant to be reserved for movies.

With a groan, Ariel reached up and massaged her temples, willing the killer headache that had settled between her eyes to just _go away_. She wasn't sure if it had been caused by lack of sleep or stress or the situation they were in or the maybe concussion she had gotten from the fall she had taken down the stairs.

Either way, she couldn't worry about it now. They had other things to focus on, and right now they needed to get rid of the _Witnesses_ before they killed other people.

"Apocalypse?" Dean asked eyes stretched wide and mouth agape like a fish. "The _Apocalypse,_ Apocalypse? The Four Horsemen? Pestilence? $5-a-gallon-gas Apocalypse?"

"Yeah Dean," Ari snapped impatiently, handing the book back to Bobby. "That's the one."

"The rise of the Witnesses is a mile-marker," Bobby told them.

"So what do we do?" Sam asked.

"Road trip," Dean suggested hopefully. "Grand Canyon, _Star Trek Experience._ Bunny Ranch."

"First things first, how about we survive our friends out there," Bobby said, gesturing to the door of the panic room.

"Great. Any ideas, aside from staying in this room till Judgement Day?" Dean asked, sarcasm evident in his tone.

Ari understood, it was his way of dealing with a situation that felt otherwise unbearable.

"It's a spell," Bobby gestured down to the book. "To send the Witnesses back to rest. Should work."

"Should," Ariel sighed, running a hand down her face. "That sounds promising."

"If it's translated correctly," Bobby continued. "I think we've got everything we need in the house."

"Any chance you got everything we need here in this room?" Dean asked with a wry smile.

"So you thought our luck was gonna start now, all of a sudden?" Bobby raised a brow, giving Dean a long look, before shaking his head simply. "Spell's gotta be cast over an open fire."

"Upstairs," Ariel realized, before groaning. "Why can't anything ever be easy?"

"That's just not as appealing as a ghost-proof panic room, y'know?"

Truer words could not have been spoken and the last thing any of them really wanted to do was leave the safety of the room. Unfortunately, it was not looking like they had much of a choice.

That's how it always felt in these situations like there wasn't much of a choice. Because if they _didn't_ do something, others would die and those deaths would be on their head.

So yeah, there wasn't much of a choice, but even if there was Ariel had no doubt in her mind which she would choose. Not only were they Witnesses killing people, but they had been dragged from eternal rest or whatever to do it. It felt _wrong._ Unfair.

And if they could fix that _and_ save people who did not deserve to die, how could they ever choose anything else?

"You read the spell," Bobby said, handing the book back to Ariel. "We'll cover you."

She blinked, looking up at him in surprise. Logically she knew it made sense for her to be the one to perform the spell. None of the Witnesses had been called forth to target her and so there was a chance that the spirits would be more interested in targeting the others instead of her.

"Right," she said with a nod of her head. "Okay."

Her grip tightened on the book as nervousness fluttered in her chest. She couldn't afford to fuck it up, and that responsibility suddenly felt like it weighed a ton on her shoulders.

"Okay," she muttered to herself as they started towards the closed door of the panic room, Bobby and her brothers each with a shotgun in hand. Ariel's own shotgun remained slung over her shoulder. "It's going to be okay."

It did not _feel_ as if things were going to be okay.

* * *

Her hands were sweating, and no matter how many times Ariel wiped them on the legs of her jeans they would not stop. The sound of gunshots was familiar to Ariel by now, but the sound of them echoing through her home was unnerving, and no matter how she had tried to steel her nerves, there was nothing she could do to keep her heart from racing in her chest.

The onslaught had started as soon as they had left the panic room, with a new ghost sitting on the steps leading out of the basement, and it had not stopped since. She stood behind the desk in the living room, holding the book in trembling hands as she read over the text.

The Latin on the page was familiar to her, years of Latin lessons as she had been growing up rushing back to her suddenly and Ariel knew it wouldn't be an issue being able to _read_ it. But her mouth suddenly felt very dry. What if she fucked up and got her uncle or one of her brothers killed. What if she said something wrong and changed the meaning of the spell.

 _What if it didn't work at all._

She pushed that thought away just as quickly as it had formed in her mind. That niggling worm of doubt needed to be squashed now. Her uncle said it would work and so it _would_ work. Ariel had to believe that.

Sam, Dean, and Bobby had all positioned themselves around the desk facing outwards, safe for now inside the circle of salt they had drawn. They were armed with their shotguns and ready to fire at any spirit that appeared. And they were all waiting for directions from Ariel.

"Any time now," Dean said gruffly, startling Ariel as she looked up from the book, worrying her lower lip between her teeth.

"Right, okay. Uh… Sam, go to the linen closet upstairs and get the red hex box," She instructed.

"It'll be heavy," Bobby added as her brother rushed off, stepping outside the salt circle and heading out of the room and towards the stairs with a speed that did not seem to fit somebody as big as him.

As he left, the two little girls appeared in his wake, just outside the circle of salt, hands joined as they stared up at Bobby, dark eyes wide and murderous.

"Bobby-" they began, only to be cut off by the sound of a gunshot. A salt round passed through them and they disappeared once more, leaving Dean holding his shotgun and staring at the space they had only just occupied.

"Dean, I need hemlock, opium, and wormwood."

"Kitchen," Bobby pointed into the next room. "Cutlery Drawer. It has a false bottom."

Dean hesitated for a moment, looking between the two of them with a raised brow. "Opium?" He asked amusedly.

"Dean, we don't have time for this!" Ariel snapped.

Dean gave a curt nod of his head at her words and darted into the next room, leaving Ariel to turn back her attention to the book in front of her. With a shaking hand, she opened the drawer of the desk and pulled out a piece of chalk, immediately starting to draw on the varnished surface of the desk.

"Bobby, you walked right by us while that monster ate us all up."

Ariel looked up with a start to see that the ghost girls had reappeared and were glaring up at Bobby, who remained safe inside the circle.

"You could have saved us." The other spoke now, picking up where her sister had left off.

Bobby fired off a round from his shotgun a second later, making the sisters disappear once more.

"Hurry up, Ari," he said, glancing back at her.

She nodded quickly and turned her attention back to the task at hand, taking a deep breath as she continued to draw the symbol needed to complete the ritual.

A moment later, the sound of the kitchen doors slamming shut made Ariel jump and she looked up in concern, her every instinct yelling at her to run after her brother.

" _Dean?"_ She yelled out, worry evident in her voice.

His reply came a second later, muffled by the doors. "I'm fine, Ari. Keep working!"

This wasn't how she had imagined hunting to be when she had been a child. It had never occurred to Ariel that things would seem this urgent or stressful or dangerous. It had always seemed… kind of glamorous, honestly, despite both Sam and Dean's claims to the contrary.

 _They_ got to travel with Dad and stay in hotel rooms all the time. _They_ didn't have a bedroom to clean or chores to do. _They_ didn't have to eat their vegetables because most of the time what they were eating was greasy diner food. _They_ got to help people and be the kind of heroes kids read about in stories.

Ariel had since realized that things weren't quite like that, of course. She had more than a few hunters under her belt now, but all of those hunts had been done under the watchful eye of her Dad or her Uncle or her Brothers. They had shielded her from the worst of it, made sure that Ariel was always safe.

And now… it was Ariel's job to try to make it so _they_ would be safe. Which meant she had to focus, had to perform the task that Bobby had trusted her with, despite the fact that her heart felt like it might jump out of her chest at any second with how fast it was racing.

She resumed drawing, her hand noticeably steadier now. She wasn't calmed down by any means but was, instead, filled with a firm resolve. She _had_ to do this, no matter how scared she was.

The sound of a shotgun firing rang out from the kitchen, and a moment later, both Sam and Dean burst through the doors, Sam with the red hex box in his hands and Dean with three vials in his. They hurried over, setting them down on the desk just as Ariel finished drawing the symbol.

She looked up at them, concern evident on her face. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah. Sammy saved my ass," Dean assured her.

"If you three are done chit-chatting," Bobby called back to them, still facing outwards with his shotgun cocked and ready.

The ghost from the basement reappeared then, staring at Dean with a dark smile.

"Ronald," Dean said with a friendly chuckle. He raised his shotgun again, refilling it. "Hey, come on man. I thought we were pals."

"That's when I was breathing," The ghost, Ronald, replied dangerously. "Now I'm gonna eat you alive."

His words sent a chill through Ariel but she couldn't focus on that, she grabbed the things she needed and worked on getting the appropriate amounts in the bowl on the desk.

Sam left his place from beside her, resuming his position in the semi-circle around the desk.

"Well… come on. I'm not a cheeseburger," Dean said in that patronizing tone of his. He cocked his gun but when he didn't fire a second later, Ariel glanced up to find that Ronald had vanished.

She tore her attention away from the others once more and looked back down at the book, beginning to recite the Latin spell. She could do this, she realized as the words flowed easily. She was good with Latin, after all, had always excelled at it.

The windows in the room slid open all at once, sending a strong burst of wind through the room and startling Ariel who hesitated for just a second as she looked up, blue eyes stretching wide. She wasn't sure if _she_ had caused it, or the ghosts, but she didn't have time to worry about that. The wind had shifted the salt on the ground, and they were no longer protected. The longer she spent on this spell the more likely it was that someone would be hurt.

The sound of gunshots was jarring, but Ariel kept her attention determinedly on the spell, the chant flowing fluidly from her lips. It was only when the desk beneath the bowl started to shift that she tensed, only just managing the grab the bowl of ingredients before the desk was sent sliding across the floor, trapping Sam against the wall. The two little ghost girls appeared, sitting on top of the desk and glaring down at Sam.

"Sam!" Dean yelled, starting towards their brother.

Sam shook his head quickly. "Cover Ariel!" He yelled.

Tightening her grip on the bowl, Ariel held it in one hand while balancing the book in the other, continuing the Latin, speaking faster now. She was almost done, getting to the last line of the spell when Bobby cried out in pain.

A second later there was a thump that Ariel realized must have been him falling to the floor but she refused to look up now, refused to be distracted when she was so close to being done with the spell and ending this whole thing.

Finally, she spoke the last line and dropped the book to the floor, immediately stepping over it to start in the direction of the fireplace, where a fire was crackling merrily.

She looked up with a start as one of the ghosts appeared in front of her, a woman that Ariel vaguely recognized as the demon that they had exorcised once. Her hair was longer now, and shades darker, but the dangerous expression on her face was exactly the same.

Shit.

"Dean!" Ariel cried out, getting her brother's attention as the ghost, Meg, took a step closer to Ariel.

"They couldn't save me," the ghost said mirthfully. "And they won't be able to save you."

Dean interjected himself between Ariel and Meg, lashing out with the iron poker. It swiped through Meg's middle, making her disappear and the next thing Ariel knew she was being nudged forward by her brother.

" _GO!"_ He yelled.

So she did, rushing forward to dump the contents of the bowl into the fire.

It flared up for a moment, turning bright blue and around them the ghosts all disappeared, leaving the room in unnerving silence.

* * *

Ariel should have fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She was _exhausted,_ after all, days of stress finally catching up with her.

It had been hours since they had banished the ghosts, and most of that time had been spent cleaning up, both Ariel and Bobby knowing they would absolutely _not_ feel like it the next day.

Bobby had also taken the time to tend to Ariel, making sure she didn't have a concussion before applying a butterfly bandage to the wound on her hand and bandaging the one on her arm. They wouldn't need stitches, he had told her, and she had been very lucky to not get a concussion.

Still, before Ariel had slipped upstairs to show and go to bed, she had downed a dose of ibuprofen to fight the headache she had gotten.

Now she lay in bed, head resting against her pillow and blankets pulled up to her chin. It had been a childlike impulse, to pull the blankets up that far as soon as she had gotten in bed, as if the ghosts were still around and the blankets would act as a shield.

They were all shaken, she knew, all on edge after what had happened. Ariel wasn't sure when it would go away but she hoped it would be soon. The one thing she _did_ know, was that it had been the most grueling hunt she had ever had to deal with. And if Bobby was right and the Apocalypse was nigh or whatever, Ariel had the feeling things would just get worse.

So yeah, sleep wasn't coming easily, despite the fact that all Ariel really wanted was to fall into the sweet embrace of slumber.

Downstairs, she could only hope that her brothers were having an easier time of falling asleep, but she could already hear her uncles rumbling snores echoing from somewhere down the hall. Tomorrow, her uncle and brothers would be clearing out the chandelier that Dean had shot down off the ceiling so it was probably in their best interest.

It seemed like an awful waste, Ariel had always liked the chandelier after all, but she was going to break it down afterwards in the shop and the iron would be useful.

She would, no doubt, be left to clean the mess the chandelier had made of their floor afterwards.

With a heavy sigh, Ariel rolled over in bed, in a futile attempt to find a different position that would somehow lull her into sleep. She hated this, the feeling of fear that had crept into her bones that was refusing to leave. It was like the chill that always seemed to settle in once winter came, no matter how warm they kept the house. The only thing that ever seemed to get rid of it was the warm spring sunshine.

Ariel didn't know what the cure was to this nagging fear though, that lurked at the back of her mind, sending all sorts of thoughts through her head. She was a _Winchester_ for God's sake. She wasn't meant to be _afraid._ She was meant to be brave, a badass. She was meant to make monsters quake and demons run for the hills.

At this rate, Ariel didn't even think that a _mouse_ would be afraid of her.

She had almost given up on the concept of sleep completely when she finally slipped into a restless slumber, dreams of burning blue eyes plaguing her once more.

 _Castiel. Castiel._

When she finally woke the following morning, it felt as if she had not slept at all and her headache was back, full-force now, rattling between her eyes.

" _Fuck,"_ she groaned, rubbing at her temples in an attempt to soothe it somewhat.

She didn't know _why_ she was dreaming of the blue-eyed angel, but she supposed it was better than having nightmares about what had happened the day prior.

She stood, glancing at the alarm clock on her bedside table and frowning slightly when she saw that it was still very early in the morning. Probably, nobody would be up, but Ariel was hungry and maybe some food would help to settle her headache. It was early, but not too early to make breakfast, she decided.

She headed downstairs quickly, the smell of coffee already filling the house as the automatic brewer turned on. Thank God for that, she thought, because the second best thing to a decent night's sleep was a big cup of strong Colombian coffee with lots of milk and sugar.

When she finally entered the kitchen, she was surprised to find both Sam and Dean already awake and sitting at the kitchen table.

"Morning," Dean said in a tired grumble, and Ariel was unsurprised to find that he _looked_ as exhausted as she _felt._

"Morning," she greeted, walking past them and retreiving a large clay mug from the cabinet before pouring the coffee that had brewed so far into it.

"Couldn't sleep?" Sam asked, raising a brow.

Ariel shook her head as she set about preparing her coffee the way she liked it, mixing in a large amount of milk and sugar.

"Had dreams about our friend Castiel again last night," she informed them, turning to lean against the counter and blowing on the mug before taking a small sip of coffee.

Dean sat up straight, turning to look at her with wide eyes. "What did he say to you?" He asked, making Ariel blink in surprise.

"Nothing," she said. "They were just dreams."

Unlikely, considering she had dreamed about him before they had even met him, but nothing had even happened in her dream and he certainly hadn't talk to her.

Dean visibly relaxed at her words though and that was enough for Ariel. Besides, it was too goddamn early to get into the logistics of her dream.

"What are you two doing up?" Ariel asked, setting her coffee down and moving to open the fridge, getting out the things she would need to cook breakfast.

"I couldn't sleep either," Dean replied. "I woke up and started thinking."

"About?"

If Dean shared Ariel's tendency to _overthink_ then it was probably nothing good. She turned to look at him quizzically and watched as Dean sighed, exchanging a look with Sam before turning to look at Ari.

His expression was tense, uneasy and from the tight set of his shoulders, Ariel could tell that he was worrying about something, mulling it over in his mind.

"Do you believe in God, Ariel?" He asked.

* * *

 **A/N:** **Hey guys! Look who's back right on schedule with the next chapter of her new fic! Admittedly this chapter is not my favorite but I felt it was necessary for character building. I will say, I was getting a bit nervous writing this monster of a chapter because the whole time I was really excited to write the _next_ chapter and even started to resent this one a little bit. **

**I want to take a moment to thank everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited this story. It meant a lot to me guys and I'm glad that you enjoyed it. If you read this chapter and enjoyed it please review and let me know! They really do give me a lot of inspiration when it comes time to write!**

 **If you want to see any of the edits I've made for this story, you can find them at smokeseries on Tumblr. You can also find things that other people have made me and even the trailer I made for this story!**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

" _Everything's a lot tougher when it's for real. That's when you choke. When it's for real."_

 _Stephen King_

Ariel had never met her mother.

She knew very little about her, other than the fact that she was Bobby's younger sister. She had been a hunter herself and had gotten dragged into the whole thing because of Bobby. She also knew that Bobby didn't like to talk about her.

To her credit, Ariel didn't ask often. She much preferred the idea of the woman she had built up in her head. Someone brave and kind and caring. Better to keep imagining her mother as what Ariel wanted her to be instead of asking questions and spoiling the whole thing.

After all, it was harder to be disappointed about somebody that she knew hardly anything about.

Her name was Patricia Singer, and there was only a single picture of her in the house, hanging up in the living room. She had had brown hair and startlingly blue eyes and had been, in Ariel's opinion, very pretty.

John had thought so too, as it was one of the few things he had ever said about the woman. Not that she was brave or smart, only that she was pretty.

Ariel hoped that, when she died, people had better things to say about her than that she was _pretty_.

Not that she should have expected much more than that from John Winchester. Sometimes Ariel felt like he was the epitome of disappointing parents though, logically, she knew she could have had it much worse.

At least she had had Bobby growing up. He had been kind and patient. He had given her all the love that John neglected showing, and as Ariel had gotten older she had become more and more thankful for it. Bobby had endured midnight feedings when she was a baby and had doctored all of the small cuts and scrapes she had acquired when she was very small. He had doctored her through the flu and chicken pox and more colds than Ariel could count. He had been willing to take her to play in the park with other children and had become a master at braiding hair.

Bobby was also, apparently, willing to abandon Ariel in favor of the Caribbean.

He had said he had a job to work down there, but Ariel was not so easily convinced. She half suspected he had simply taken a vacation and left her behind to hold down the fort which seemed utterly unfair.

He could have been relaxing on a beach with a daiquiri in hand and Ariel was stuck back in Sioux Falls with nothing more than a beer that tasted more like battery acid than anything.

The house was quiet, quieter than Ariel was used to, and part of her hoped that Sam and Dean would stop by for something just so that she would have some company. It had been weeks and weeks since the thing with the witnesses and she had only seen them once since then when Ariel and Bobby had gone to help the boys with a buruburu that had infected Dean.

She had been doing her best to keep herself busy since her Uncle had departed two days earlier. He had given simple instructions, answer the phone if anyone called and to not do anything reckless. Well, Ariel had done good so far, answering the house phone both times that somebody had called and she had even patiently answered Garth Fitzgerald's questions about acheri demons.

Now she was seated on the couch in the living room, her camera placed on the side-table and her sketchbook open in her lap.

She had gone for a walk that morning, picking a forest trail that she was partial to and had taken some pictures, but it had been too cold to be really enjoyable and after too long Ariel had given up, returning to her car a coming home, where she had settled down on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate and a soft fleece blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

Looking down at her sketchbook, Ariel pursed her lips slightly, expression thoughtful. She had been working on this drawing for the better part of an hour but had attempted many drawings and paintings like it in the recent weeks.

The eyes that stared up at her from the paper were intense. They seemed to look into her very soul. Some might have found them unsettling but instead, they sparked something up in Ariel that she could not quite put her finger on.

She had lost track of how often she had seen these eyes in her dreams, and by this point, it had become so common that she hardly gave it any fault.

She had not seen the owner of the eyes, the angel Castiel, since that night in the warehouse, weeks ago, but Ariel found her thoughts drifting to him often. Or rather, drifting to _angels_ often. Their existence implied something much larger. The threat of the Apocalypse loomed heavily and Ariel could only hope that they had the angels on _their_ side. If there was a God, she was not sure he would even be bothered to help at all.

With a sigh, Ariel set her sketchbook and colored pencils off to the side, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. This silence and inactivity were killing her. Bobby was off on a hunt, her brothers were presumably on or looking for a new hunt. And here Ariel was at home, going for walks and drawing pictures. It all felt to stiflingly mundane.

A hunt would be great right about now, but she had no potential prospects and if Bobby found out she had gone on a hunt alone he was likely to kill her dead when he returned from the Caribbean.

Reaching to grab her mug of hot chocolate, Ariel raised it to her mouth and took a sip, wrinkling her nose slightly at the realization that it was _cold._

"Ick," she groaned, standing and heading into the kitchen to reheat it.

She had only just set it in the microwave when the phone rang suddenly, startling her.

Honestly, since Bobby had been gone, the phone had rung significantly less than usual. Part of Ariel wondered if he had passed the word along the string of hunters that they knew that he was going to be away. Or maybe things were just… quiet.

"Hello?" She pressed the landline to her eat, seating herself on the corner of the kitchen table.

" _Ariel?"_ A voice asked. _"Listen to you, kid. You sound like a full-grown woman. This is Levi Frieling."_

"Levi, hey!" Ariel greeted brightly, smiling to herself. "I'm all grown up now, you know."

" _Nah,"_ Came the teasing reply. _"You're still knee-high to a grasshopper, following that uncle of yours around."_

Levi Frieling was an old friend of Bobby's that he had met on a hunt down in Louisiana. He was retired now, but once he had been one of the most fearsome creatures a big bad beastie could come across. Since his retirement, he had settled down in his hometown in Northwestern Ohio with his wife, Portia. To Ariel's knowledge, their daughter Gia was still an active hunter.

"You need to talk to Uncle Bobby, Levi? He's on a hunt right now. I don't know when he'll be back." Ariel held the phone between her head and shoulder, returning to the microwave to retrieve her reheated hot chocolate.

" _Actually, I was calling to pass along some information. Word got around to us that Bobby was looking into anything that had to do with_ angels _."_

Ariel straightened up, eyes widening in surprise. "You know something?" She asked, her tone suddenly very serious.

 _"Well I would take it with a grain of salt, but yes I heard something,"_ Levi replied. He sounded relaxed, but Ariel had the feeling that if Levi knew what she knew then he wouldn't be so nonchalant.

"Well," Ariel prompted. "What is it?"

* * *

It wasn't until after Dean was face to face with Ruby that his phone began to ring, chiming through the tense situation like a knife.

All of them, Ruby included, jumped slightly as Dean reached for his phone, pulling it out and flipping it open without bothering to check the caller I.D.

"Yeah?" He spoke gruffly, his gaze still set on Ruby who shifted slightly but smirked as if she was not bothered at all. Dean knew better. Ruby was fully aware that Dean had no qualms about ganking a demonic bitch like her. If she were smart, she wouldn't even be in the same _state_ as him.

" _Dean,"_ Ariel's voice chimed eagerly through the phone.

"Ari, I'm a little busy right now," Dean said simply. He didn't have time to listen to Ariel prattling on about whatever she had called about right now. He had more pressing issues, mainly Ruby, staring him in the face.

" _Well make time for this, it's important,"_ was her instant response, voice still bright and eager. Either she couldn't hear the annoyance in her voice or she didn't care. _"Levi Frieling called. There's a woman in Avon Lake, Ohio who was institutionalized because she said she could hear_ angels _talking, Deano."_

His eyes narrowed on Ruby while her expression grew smug. She had only just been telling them the exact same thing. Clearly, she had heard some of what Ariel was saying.

"Is that the baby sister?" Ruby asked. "Tell her I said hi."

" _Dean?"_ Ariel prompted when he didn't say anything. _"Did you hear me. She can hear_ angels _, Dean. Levi said she escaped from the hospital. We have to find her! She could be in trouble. Or she could know something."_

"Ari, I don't want anything to do with the angels," Dean said firmly. "So forget about the woman. Don't you go near this case, Ari? Not by yourself, you hear me?"

" _But-"_

"No, Ari." There was no room for argument in Dean's tone, and he could practically feel his sister's disappointment through the phone. There was a moment of silence before she finally answered.

" _Whatever you say, big brother."_

And then the line went dead, Ari clearly having hung up on him.

"Aww," Ruby simpered, poking her bottom lip out in a mocking pout. "The little rabbit isn't going to be happy with her big brother now, is she?"

"You shut the hell up!" Dean growled. "How does Ariel know about this?"

Ruby shrugged innocently. "You heard her. Levi Something-or-other called and told her. Sounds like a reliable source to me."

"Ruby-" Sam began, tone warning, but Dean had already stepped closer, invading her personal space and sticking a threatening finger in her face.

"This has nothing to do with Ariel. You leave her out of this!"

"Whatever you say," Ruby replied brightly. "But I didn't drag her _into_ this."

And with that she turned to leave, leaving both brothers to stare after her as she sauntered away, heading towards the exit without once glancing back.

Dean huffed, running a hand down his face as he turned away, part of him tempted to go after Ruby and kill the bitch, and the other part of him mulling over this newly acquired information.

"Dean. what are we going to do?" Sam asked, watching Ruby walk away for a moment before turning back to his brother.

Dean sighed, shaking his head. "If it was just Ruby giving us this information, I wouldn't even consider it. But _Ariel_ called with the exact same information. That has to mean something."

And it _did_ mean something. Because the information had been passed along the grapevine to Ariel from _Levi Frieling,_ and there was no way Levi would give false information. He was a good, honest guy and once upon a time he had been one of the best hunters in the game. John had trusted Levi implicitly and so Dean trusted Levi implicitly.

"Get an address to the hospital Ruby mentioned," Dean directed. "Let's find out what the angels have been saying."

* * *

It was a fourteen-hour drive from Sioux Falls to the little Ohio town where Anna Milton had gone missing. Ariel had, at first, resolved to leave as soon as possible but after her conversation with Dean, she had been less intent on that goal.

First, fourteen hours was a hell of a long drive to make alone, nevermind the fact that by the time she had everything loaded in the trunk of her car it was after dark and, comfortable as Ariel was with driving she didn't want to make such a long trip alone at night. Her reluctance to leave immediately had absolutely _nothing_ to do with the fact that Dean had told her to leave it alone.

Regardless, the following morning when Ariel finally resolved to leave she did not call to let either of her brothers know.

It would be fine, she had told herself. She just had to find this woman and take her somewhere safe and figure out what the angels were planning, and she would do it all by herself. So maybe Ariel would have to gank a few demons, she had done that before no problem. She would take care of Anna now and when Dean inevitably found out Ariel had done what he had told her not to, she would ask for forgiveness then.

Or not, because she wasn't obligated to _listen_ to what Dean told her to do. Or what Bobby said for that matter because she was pretty sure he would classify her taking off on her own like this as _reckless._ Ariel was grown and fully capable of going on a hunt on her own, thank you very much.

So she had made the drive by herself with classic rock blaring from the radio of the '69 Charger she had recently finished rebuilding. It wasn't the Impala by any stretch of the imagination but she felt like one of the _Dukes of Hazzard_ when driving it, so it did have its perks.

Since arriving in town, she had been learning what she could about Anna Milton. She already had tentative plans to pose as a social worker and go to the hospital to get all the information they had on Anna, though Ariel was not confident that they would be willing to share much with her. It was the downfall of _looking_ like she was twenty years old. Any professional would look down on her like she was still a child.

With a sigh, Ariel sat her laptop aside. She needed to look away because if she stared at the screen any longer, Ari was sure she would go crazy. There was only so much information that Ari could get from online, considering Anna Milton _seemed_ normal by all means. She had been born and raised in the same town and had apparently never left, choosing instead to attend the community college.

Ariel found most of this out by looking at Anna's social media _._ Looking further, Ariel found some pictures from Anna's high school days. There was nothing to suggest that Anna was different than anybody else walking down the street and so Ariel was at a loss as to _why_ Anna could apparently hear angels.

She had already been in this town for a whole day and had no leads about where to find Anna except for her house which she was sure the police would have already checked.

Ariel stood, grabbing her jacket from where it hung over the back of the chair she decided she would go and get a bite to eat and come back to look through the information she had gathered with fresh eyes. If she didn't have any information by tonight she would go and ask Anna's roommates and neighbors if they knew anything tomorrow. Worst case scenario, she would go to the hospital and attempt to wrangle information out of them there.

She had learned just how unwilling people were to give information to anyone that they thought looked too young and inexperienced.

With a firm game plan, Ariel pushed open the door to her hotel room and stepped out into the brisk fall air, freezing when she saw a familiar vehicle pulling into the parking lot.

 _Shit!_

She could have, perhaps, ducked back into her hotel room and resolved to never come out again but before she had the chance the car came to an abrupt halt and the driver's side window rolled down to reveal Dean glaring at her with a look that Ariel was very familiar with by now.

" _Ari?!_ What the hell are you doing here?" Dean demanded. "I thought I told you to stay away?"

Ariel blinked, staring at her brother with a deer in the headlights expression. He had sounded so sure over the phone and so she had written off the possibility of being confronted by her brother. He had said he didn't want anything to do with angels and Ariel had believed him. There had been no doubt that he would find out in the future but Ariel had been prepared to deal with it _then,_ not _now._

"Uh… "

"Well?" He prompted, sounding more like an impatient father than an aggravated big brother.

"I'm sorry," Ariel said finally. "I don't know who Ariel is. You must have me confused with someone else."

With that she ducked back into the hotel room, slamming it shut behind her and sliding the chain lock into place.

She was acting ridiculous but dealing with one, possibly two, angry big brothers was actually the _last_ thing Ariel was in the mood for. Food could wait. She could order Chinese or something later.

Not that Dean and Sam were likely to leave her be, and sure enough a few moments later came the sound of a fist banging against the door to her room.

 _Shitshitshit!_

"Go away," she called, a weak attempt she knew, but it was better than nothing.

"Open the door, Ari!" Dean hollered, no doubt disturbing anyone who might've been staying in one of the rooms on either side of Ariel's.

This was supposed to be _her_ hunt, damnit. Dean had shot her down and basically forfeited any claim he had over it. Ariel was _committed._ She had a _plan._ Now here they were to ruin it and make Ariel feel inept.

"No," she responded stubbornly. "You're just going to yell at me and make me feel like a stupid kid."

"You're acting like a stupid kid!" Dean responded immediately.

There he was again, with his biting words. Well if he thought that being a dick was going to get her to open the door, he had another thing coming.

"Ariel," Sam spoke up now, his voice much calmer than Dean's. "He's not going to yell at you. Just open the door please."

Sam's steady voice made her hesitate, her firm resolve to _not_ open the door wavering. Sam would, maybe, be on her side. At the very least he would keep Dean from yelling at her. Anyway, the longer Ari kept the door closed, the more pissed off Dean was going to get.

A moment later, she pulled the door to the hotel room open slowly, enough for Dean to come stomping in. He turned immediately to glare at Ariel and again, she was struck by the fact that he reminded her more of _a dad_ at that moment than a brother.

Sam followed behind him, reaching back to close the door and looking between Ariel and Dean, already mentally preparing himself to play referee in the inevitable argument that would follow.

"Let me just start by saying… I'm not going to say sorry." Ariel said. "I didn't think you were going to look into it so I decided that I would."

"I told you not to!" Dean snapped.

"And I'm not a child!" Ariel shot back, without missing a beat. "Which is something that both of you and Bobby seem to forget. I'm a goddamn adult and I am perfectly capable of taking my own hunts!"

"You wouldn't have been able to handle the witnesses on your own," Dean pointed out. "And you can't handle _angels_ alone."

"How would you know, Dean?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Nobody ever gives me a chance to do things on my own. Everyone treats me like an incapable child. I'm twenty fucking years old, okay? Sam wasn't much older than me when you two took off to look for Dad. And you didn't babysit him or treat him like he was incompetent. You trusted him to have your back. Well, I'm a hunter too, Dean, and I'm tired of everyone acting like they have to hold my hand and guide me through everything!"

When she finished, only silence followed. She stood there, glaring at Dean with her jaw set as if daring him to say something belittling.

He sighed, expression softening as he looked at her.

"Ari... " he began, his tone far softer than it had been before. "We just worry about you."

"Well don't," Ari said shortly. "I don't want you to worry. I want you to trust me to know my limit and know when I'm in over my head and need help. I want you guys and Bobby to _not_ hover. I want to _not_ be told to stay away from hunts because they're too dangerous. I want to be treated like a goddamned grown ass hunter, _not_ a child."

Finally, the words that Ariel had been holding in for what felt like forever had come spilling out. And with them gone a weight was lifted from Ariel's chest. She didn't want to be treated like a _child_ or a _baby sister,_ she wanted to be treated like an equal.

"We can't help but worry," Sam said finally, sharing a long look with Dean. "But we'll try to be better. Less… overprotective."

"Really?" Ariel's expression brightened, a smile slowly spreading across her face as she looked between her brothers. "You mean it?"

She had directed the question at Dean and, though he didn't look happy about it, he finally gave a curt nod of his head, resulting in an excited gasp from Ariel.

She rushed forward, throwing her arms around Dean in a hug. She pulled away and immediately moved to hug Sam as well. Finally, she stepped back with a sheepish smile and gestured to the very small stack of research she had accumulated on the single table to hotel room offered.

"Okay but actually, I need your help for this one. No hospital employee in their right mind is going to release information to _me._ "

"So you want us to take the hospital? What are you going to do?" Sam asked, moving forward to start thumbing through the notes that Ariel had meticulously taken on Anna Milton.

"Go talk to her roommates and neighbors. Maybe her parents," she shrugged her narrow shoulders. " _Tomorrow,_ I mean. It's too late now to justify going around asking any questions."

"So… dinner?" Dean asked eagerly.

"Dinner," Ariel agreed with a nod, before pausing with a frown. "Wait, aren't you two going to check in?"

"Nah? You already have a room. Why waste the money. We can all just stay in here."

In here being _Ari's_ hotel room with the _single_ king-sized bed. She had eagerly booked this room for that very reason when the lady manning the counter had mentioned it as an option. After all, Ariel certainly didn't have a king-sized bed at home. She had been looking forward to the silence. Now, she realized, she would be getting very little of that.

"Fine," she said finally. "But I call dibs on the bed!"

She didn't stick around to hear Sam or Dean argue against that, instead making a beeline towards to door.

"Wait, what?" She heard Dean stammer from behind her before she heard the sound of footsteps in pursuit of her.

* * *

The day had been mostly uneventful as far as Ariel was concerned. She had spent most of her morning posing as Anna's cousin, Becky Milton, and asking her friends and neighbors just what had been going on in Anna's life in the recent weeks.

Opinions on Anna were mostly the same, she was a sweet-natured girl. Well-liked. Didn't party much. She did volunteer work and organized study groups and was always in bed right on time and went to church every Sunday. She sounded a lot like how Ariel imagined Sam had been in college, actually. The general belief was that Anna's schizophrenia had come on quite suddenly and before anyone could really process what had happened. Anna had landed herself in the local psych hospital.

Finally, when Ariel felt she had gotten all the information she could from friends and neighbors, she had ventured to Anna's parents' house. It was a nice little house, in an equally as nice little subdivision.

Pulling her jacket tighter around her body, trying to fight off the chill in the air, Ariel mounted the steps quickly before rapping her knuckles against the Miltons' front door, mentally preparing herself to pose as Anna's friend from school.

 _Knockknockknock!_

She waited there for a moment, her breath visible in the cool air, but when no answer came she wrapped her knuckles more insistently against the door.

 _Knockknockknockknockknock!_

Rocking on the balls of her feet, Ariel waited there for a long minute before shifting to peer around the edge of the house at the driveway. She had been certain that the car had been in the driveway, and sure enough there it was. So then where were the Miltons and why had they not answered the door? They could have been taking a nap, perhaps, but Ariel didn't know anybody who could take a _nap_ knowing that their daughter was missing. So then, maybe they had another car and had gone somewhere? That seemed a bit more likely, but Ariel couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more going on here.

She banged her fist against the door this time.

 _BANG!BANG!BANG!_

Still no answer and, after a quick look around to make sure nobody was watching, Ariel crouched down, reaching into the bag that hung over her shoulder to pull out two bobby pins. She set to work picking the lock, a skill Sam had taught her when she was still a child. He had been… what, thirteen or fourteen at the time and had beamed down proudly at her as she worked to unlock the padlock he had set before her.

Finally, when Ariel heard the telltale click, she swung open the front door and looked around again before stepping inside, kicking the door closed behind her.

The house was dark and mostly quiet, except for the clicking of a clock somewhere. The entrance hall was tastefully decorated, a coat rack to the right next to an umbrella stand. To the left was a table, upon which sat a bowl that had keys in it. So far, it looked like Ari had stepped into the house of two of the most normal people living in America. The only sign that something was wrong was the stench of sulfur in the air.

 _Shit._

Reaching to pull out the gun she had slid into the waistband of her skirt, Ariel started into the next room, her gun cocked and ready. It wouldn't do much to _stop_ a demon but it would definitely slow it down. Long enough, hopefully, for Ariel to do what needed to be done to take care of it for good.

But there didn't seem to be any demons here, she realized. At least, not anymore. But there definitely had been, because the scent of sulfur was so strong in the air that Ariel felt as if she might choke on it.

"Hello?" She called softly, coming around the corner into the living room. She automatically froze at the sight, her stomach turning at the sight that lay before her.

The Miltons laid in a pool of their own blood, their throats slit. They were very obviously dead, Ariel realized, which wasn't the problem because she had seen dead bodies before that had been in far worse condition. No, the problem here was that their blood which still looked shiny and wet and still relatively fresh. It had started to seep into the area rug they had, staining it a ruddy crimson color. The rug was ruined, Ariel knew, and the wood floors too. Nothing would get this stain out. The only thing that could be done was to lay carpet down or get new wood floors. That was the only way that the realtor who ended up saddled with this place would be able to hide what had been done here, the only way they could cover up this atrocious deed.

It made Ariel feel sick just thinking about it. This morning, the Miltons would have been alive and well. If Ariel went into the kitchen she might find their breakfast dishes still in the sink, something easy and quick because they would be been more focused on finding Anna.

They wouldn't find her now. Anna would never see her parents again. Poor girl, her whole life had been flipped on its head and Ariel and her brothers had been too fucking late to do anything to help. Now they could only hope to find Anna before something worse happened.

Averting her eyes, Ariel stepped into the next room and pulled her phone out of her bag, selecting Sam's contact info and hitting the call button.

" _You find anything?"_ He asked a moment later when he answered the phone.

"Yeah. I found the Miltons dead in their living room?" She responded, leaning back against the wall, fighting the urge to be sick.

" _Wha- Anna too?"_

"No, just her parents. It was demons, Sam. The whole damn house smells like sulfur."

" _Dammit!"_ Sam cursed, his voice thick with anger. "Okay, stay there. We're on our way."

* * *

Dean didn't waste any time in getting to the Miltons' house after Sam told him what had happened. Logically, he knew Ariel would probably be okay and could handle any demons that might have been hanging around, but that didn't help to offer any relief when his stomach had clenched up as soon as Sam had told him that Ariel was in that house alone.

He drove over the speed limit the whole way there.

Finally, when he came speeding up to the curb behind Ariel's Charger he came to a stop abruptly, both he and Sam jolting forward in their seats.

Dean was out of his seat in record time, his trusty demon-killing knife sheathed at his side and a gun slid into the waistband of his pants. He walked across the yard and onto the porch in a few long strides but before he could open the door, Ariel pulled it open, staring up at Dean with wide blue eyes.

"That was fast," she commented.

"You're okay?" He stepped past her, into the house, with Sam following close behind.

"I'm fine. The demons were gone when I got here," Ariel assured him.

She moved past them, leading the way into the living room where, sure enough, the bodies of Miltons lay.

Ariel wasn't looking at them, Dean noticed. Instead, she had migrated over to the opposite wall and was looking at the pictures that lined the mantle above the fireplace. She was careful not to touch anything, keeping her hands at her sides determinedly.

Ariel could make all the claims she wanted that she was as tough as either of her brothers, but Dean knew that they simply were not true. Ariel was soft and sensitive and _good_. She was the best person that Dean knew, and goddamn he loved her for it.

It was what drove him to try to protect her the way he did. He would do whatever he could to keep Ariel safe. Sam, he was less worried about, though he did still worry about his brother, there was no getting around that. Sam was far more capable of defending himself than Ariel was.

Dean knew better than to tell Ari that though because, like both Dean and Sam, Ariel was notoriously stubborn. She would set out to purposefully prove him wrong and it would likely land her in even more trouble.

Beside Dean, Sam knelt down to examine the line of powder that dotted the floor around the Miltons.

"Yep," he said standing up, rubbing the substance between his fingers. "Sulfur."

"None of the people I talked to today were very helpful," Ariel said, turning to face them again. "They all said the same thing. Anna was a perfectly nice, well-behaved college student who had a sudden onset of schizophrenia."

"Her doctor said basically the same thing. Except, this wasn't the first time Anna has needed a psychiatrist," Dean told her, stepping over the Miltons and moving to examine the rest of the room, looking for any sign that Anna had been here recently.

"What do you mean?"

"Apparently," Sam began, wiping his fingers on the legs of his jeans. "When Anna was little she was upset that her father was upset at her. Her _heavenly_ father?"

"God?" Ariel asked in surprise.

"That's him. The doctor seemed to think that her hallucinations having religious overtones was because her dad was a deacon at the church."

"So what do we think it means?" she asked, looking between her brothers.

Dean shrugged. "Until we find Anna, we don't really have a way of knowing."

"Well, we had better get going. We don't want the demons to find her first."

Sam nodded, turning to look at Ariel, stiffening when he spied one of the pictures on the mantle behind her. "You still have Anna's drawings?" He asked, moving across the room quickly to grab one of the photographs.

"Uh...yeah," Dean reached into his pocket, pulling out a folded up stack of papers. He moved over to his siblings, unfolding them and handing them to Sam who shuffled through them, handing the picture frame over to Dean who immediately realized what Sam was looking for.

"What is it?" Ari asked, leaning over to look at the picture in the frame as well.

"That stained glass window," Sam pointed to it. "It looks like one of Anna's drawings."

Sure enough, a moment later, Sam held up the drawing he had been talking about where the stained glass matched the one he had pointed out. The photograph was of a large, old church. Presumably, the one that Anna's dad served at as a deacon.

"Well," Dean sighed. "I guess we're going to church."

* * *

There had been one year when Ariel had been about eleven, that a family of blue jays had moved into an abandoned robin's nest outside Ariel's window. She had remembered the robins fondly of course but hadn't thought much of the nest they left behind when it had been abandoned.

It had taken her days to notice them out there but once she had she had eagerly brought it to Bobby's attention and had begged him to take her to the library so she could get a book on blue jays. He had all manner of books on monsters and spirits and demons, but none on birds.

From that book, the most interesting fact that Ariel learned was that blue jays formed monogamous pair bonds for life. There was something very soft about that, something sweet. Bobby had laughed it off but Ariel was _sure_ this was evidence that birds could fall in love.

For weeks she had watched the birds silently, from the inside of her bedroom but not once did she pick up her camera to take a picture. She had been afraid it would scare the mother and father birds off and beyond that, it felt almost too… pure to take a picture of. She would remember it, she decided, because it was fleeting and sweet and tranquil _._ And because she would remember it, she did not need a picture of it.

Since then, there had been very few things that Ariel had come across that evoked the same emotions from her. Ariel would take pictures of practically anything if she saw some form of beauty in it.

But this church, with its stone steeple and stained glass, reminded her of those birds. There was something so pure about it. Ariel might not have been on board with the whole religion thing, but she could appreciate the emotions places like this were meant to evoke from people.

Ariel was the first one out of the car when Dean put it in park, already shutting the door behind her before Sam and Dean had even gotten their seatbelts off.

She looked up at the church with wide eyes, admiring it for a moment before turning to look at Sam and Dean as they got out of the car.

"What if Anna isn't in there?" She asked.

"Then it's back to the drawing board," Dean shrugged before moving to open the trunk. "You need a gun, Ari?"

She shook her head, raising the hem of her shirt to show him the 9mm she had tucked into the waistband of her skirt. "No," she said. "I'm good."

Dean paused for a moment, opening his mouth to say something before seeming to think better of it and closing it again. Perhaps he wanted to comment on the fact that it had been tucked into the waistband of her pretty floral skirt, which definitely was not the best hunting attire, or maybe he wanted to tease her about the fact that her gun had a decorative floral design engraved into the side, a gift from Bobby for the previous year's Christmas.

"Okay," Dean said finally, getting fresh ammo for all three of them which he hurriedly divided between them, before slamming the trunk shut once more and tilting his head towards the church. "Let's go, children. It's been a while since we've all gone to church together."

Ariel snorted, shaking her head lightly, and fell into step with her brothers, the three of them moving quickly and efficiently to the doors of the church, slipping inside without a sound. Guns held at the ready they moved through the quiet halls, bodies tense and ready for anything.

Nobody was inside which seemed odd to Ariel. Wasn't it kind of irresponsible to leave the doors of the church unlocked for anybody to come inside and take whatever they wanted? Did churches usually have valuable stuff? Or maybe it was odd and somebody else was already here and had left the door unlocked, uncaring who else attempted to come inside.

All the possibilities swirled endlessly through Ariel's head just as she was sure they were doing through Sam and Dean's. They had been doing this too long for them to not be considering every angle of the circumstance they were in.

If anybody saw them now, slipping through the hallways of the church with all the ease and grace of predators, guns cocked and ready, they would be very concerned for what was about to happen. So probably, it would be better if nobody saw them at all.

They cleared rooms out methodically, going through each one until only one door was left and, exchanging a glance with both Ariel and Sam, Dean leaned forward to turn the knob. If Anna was hidden somewhere in the church, it would be where this door led.

It opened to a steep staircase, the steps an aesthetic mess of unfinished wood planks. Probably, it led to the attic. Otherwise, this church needed to call their decorator and complain because it looked pretty fucking bad.

Dean led the procession up the stairs, unable to keep them from creaking under his feet, with Sam close behind, followed by Ariel.

She had been right in her assumptions. The staircase led up to a dusty attic, lit only by the single window that sent in a flare of dying sunlight, highlighting the dust modules that hung in the air.

There was an assortment of furniture that had been relegated up here, old chairs and tables stacked haphazardly and even an old moth-ridden sofa with a tacky dogwood print. A stack of framed paintings had been leaned precariously against one wall next to a huge vase that had a large crack scored into the side.

The whole room stunk of must and mildew and there was no sign that anyone had even been up here in a while, except the single blanket that had been drawn across the sagging sofa and the small mountain of junk food wrappers and water bottles that sat beside it. It looked like somebody had been living up here. Catching her brothers' attention, Ariel tilted her head towards it before stepping past them, moving further into the room cautiously.

"Anna?" She called, her voice loud in the thick silence of the room. "Anna we're here to help."

A flash of red hair from behind the sofa had her pausing, not wanting to move closer and spook the woman any more than she already was.

"My name is Ariel," she continued, her voice patient and soothing, as if she were talking to a small child. "These are my brothers, Sam and Dean."

"Ariel?" Anna raised herself slowly to peer over the couch, only her large doe eyes visible as she looked at her in surprise. "Not Ariel Winchester."

"You know who I am?" Ariel blinked, surprise flickering across her face as she turned to look at her brothers. How in the hell did Anna know her?

"And you two are _the_ Sam and Dean Winchester?" Anna continued, standing up fully now. She moved to step around the couch but her gaze shifted to the gun Ariel still gripped expertly in her hand and seemed to think better of it.

"Uh… I guess so," Dean shrugged, sounding unsure of how to respond to that.

"It's really you," Anna breathed, sounding in awe. "Oh my God. The angels talk about you, Dean. You were in Hell, but Castiel pulled you out."

"Right," Ariel interrupted, nodding her head. "He's the one who _gripped Dean tight and raised him from perdition._ We _know_ that."

Anna hesitated, looking sheepish for a moment before speaking again. "Some of them… think you can help us, Dean."

Her words left Dean looking gobsmacked, looking at Anna as if he wanted to ask questions but wasn't entirely sure which ones he should ask.

"Some of them don't like you at all," Anna continued, looking at Sam before turning her attention to Ariel again. "And you… you confuse them."

"Angels talk about _me_?" Ariel asked, tone reflecting the shock that showed on Dean's face.

"They talk about you three all the time lately," Anna admitted. "I feel like I already know you."

"So you talk to angels?" Dean asked, stepping closer to Anna.

The young woman shrugged, shaking her head slightly. "Um… they probably don't even know I exist. I just overhear them."

 _Overhear them?_ Ariel furrowed her brow, turning to look at Sam to see if he had any idea what that could mean but he looked just as confused as she did.

"They talk and sometimes I just… hear them in my head," Anna explained quickly, drawing back Ariel's attention.

"So it's a one-way kind of thing?" Ariel asked. "Like a radio?"

"Yes!" Anna nodded quickly. "That's exactly right."

"Can you hear them right now?" Dean asked.

"Not right this second, but a lot," Anna replied. "And I can't shut them out there are so many of them."

"So they lock you up with a case of the crazies when really you were just… tuning into _angel radio_?" Dean sounded incredulous as if he couldn't quite wrap his head around the fact that the young woman before them could just… tune into angelic conversations.

Ariel couldn't blame him, it did seem unlikely. Someone _talking_ to angels was a bit easier to swallow, the concept of the connection going both ways. But she was just able to eavesdrop? And the information had fallen right into their laps? Well, that was just incredibly convenient.

"Yes," Anna said dryly. "Thank you."

"Anna, when did the voices start?" Sam asked. "Do you remember?"

"I can tell you exactly," she responded promptly. "September eighteenth."

Both Ariel and Sam turned to immediately look at Dean in surprise, recognition flickering across their faces. They both knew what that day had been.

"The day I got out of Hell," Dean breathed.

"First words I heard, clear as a bell - _'Dean Winchester is saved'_."

"What do you think?" Dean asked, turning to look at both of his siblings.

"It's above my pay grade, man," Sam said with a shrug.

"I think we get her back to my house and get her comfortable," Ariel said. "And then we decide what to do."

Already she was thinking about how they could utilize this to their benefit, but also she knew that they had to keep Anna safe. The sooner they got her out of here, the better.

Dean considered her words for a short moment before nodding in confirmation.

"At least we know why the demons want you so bad," He said, turning back to Anna once more. "They get a hold of you, they can hear everything the other side is cooking. You're 1-900-angel."

"Hey, um…" Anna sounded suddenly nervous, gaze shifting over the three of them, her brown eyes wide and hopeful. "Do you know if my parents are okay? I-I didn't go home. I was afraid."

 _Oh._

Ariel felt her heartbreak for this woman. She didn't know that her poor parents were lying cold and dead in the floor of their living room, necks gaping open. Her whole world had been turned on its head and there were more devastating blows left to come.

Ariel opened her mouth as if to say something when the sound of the attic door opening had her and her brothers instantly whipping around, guns raised and ready as a brunette woman came up the stairs. She looked immediately at Anna and breathed a sigh of relief.

"You got the girl," she said, tilting her head back the way she came. "Good. Let's go."

"Who the hell are you?" Ariel asked at the same time that Anna let out a horrified cry of, " _Her face!_ "

"Nice to see you too, Ari," the brunette commented dryly.

Ariel stared at her, brow furrowed as she tried to remember if she had ever met this woman before. Was she a hunter that she had been introduced to by Bobby? That would explain why she was here, but Ariel was pretty sure she had never seen her before. And then it hit her.

The woman who was in Sam's hotel room the night Ariel, Dean, and Bobby had gone to get him.

"It's alright," Sam assured Anna before turning to look at Ariel and clearing his throat awkwardly. "Ariel, it's Ruby."

" _What?"_ She turned to face him, scowling dangerously at her brother.

 _Ruby?_ But she wasn't supposed to be here, she was supposed to be back in Hell where she belonged. Lilith had gotten rid of her when she had gone after Dean. And yet, from the looks on both Sam and Dean's faces, they weren't surprised to find her here.

The fact that it was Ruby also explained Anna's crying out about her face. Anna clearly had senses beyond that of a normal person. She could _hear_ angels. Maybe she could also see the true faces of demons.

"How long has she been back?" Ariel demanded. "And why the hell didn't you tell Bobby and I that you've been working with her again?"

"We didn't think you would take the news very well," Sam reasoned.

" _You're damn right we wouldn't have!"_

"She's here to help," Sam insisted, looking between Ariel and Anna.

"Yeah, don't be so sure," Dean snarked.

"Look," Ruby interrupted impatiently. "We don't have time for this."

"Don't tell us what we do and don't have time for, demon bitch!" Ariel snapped, turning her expression back onto the demon, her gun still level with her chest. For a moment, she was struck with the impulse to shoot her. It wouldn't do much, but it would help Ariel to feel better about the whole thing.

"We have to hurry," Ruby argued back, crossing her arms over her chest and looking thoroughly unimpressed with Ariel.

"Why?" Dean asked. He moved closer to Ariel, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Ariel was tempted to pull away, a petty impulse, but one look at Dean's face was enough for her to know that he was about as comfortable with this arrangement with Ruby as Ariel was. So _Sam_ was the one behind it. That wasn't such a surprise, especially since she had been in his hotel room. _With no pants on,_ Ariel realized, eyes widening a fraction. Now _that_ was a thread she really didn't want to tug on.

"Because a demon is coming - a big-timer," Ruby sighed. "We can fight later, Ariel."

Oh yeah, Ariel was _sure_ Ruby would know all about what demons were coming.

"Pretty convenient, showing up right when we find the girl with some bigwig on your tail," Dean's grip tightened on his gun, finger hovering over the trigger. He wanted to shoot her too, Ariel realized with a smirk.

"I didn't bring him here. You did,"

Ariel blinked, brow furrowing in confusion. _What?_

"He followed you from the girl's house," Ruby explained impatiently. "We got to go _now_."

Dean opened his mouth as if to argue, but Sam cut him off.

"Dean. Ariel," he pointed a finger to a Virgin Mary statue that had been stored in the attic.

Ariel's stomach dropped, eyes widening when she saw that the statue was bleeding from the eyes. It was like something she had seen in a scary movie and that didn't help her to feel any more comfortable about the demon that Ruby had claimed had followed them.

"It's too late. He's here," Even Ruby looked scared, eyes set on the statue with widened eyes.

"Ariel, you have to get Anna out of here," Sam said suddenly, turning to face her.

"What? _No!"_

 _Leave?_ Ariel couldn't leave. There was no way that she would ever abandon her brothers to fight a demon that made _a fucking statue of the Virgin Mary bleed from the eyes._ She stared at him incredulously, squaring up to argue against the next words that came out of his mouth.

"He's right," Dean interjected. "We _have_ to keep her safe. Okay?"

It was Dean, acting as the voice of reason, that broke her resolve.

"So what, I'm supposed to just take her and walk out the door? I think the demon will _notice._ " She snapped, looking between the two of them.

As much as she hated to admit it, they _did_ need to keep Anna safe. And if there was some big bad demon ready to throw down, Sam and Dean were prepared to put up a much better fight than her. She just hated leaving them behind.

Of course, none of that mattered if they couldn't figure out a safe way to get out of here.

"Here!" Sam said suddenly, reaching out to grip both Ariel and Anna's arms and guiding them over to a pile of furniture near the door. He pushed them behind it, concealing them from view in most the room. Whatever came through that door next certainly wouldn't be able to see them. After a moment of consideration, Sam also gestured Ruby over. "Go with them," he instructed, pulling out a flask from his pocket, one that she assumed was filled with holy water.

"No Sam," Ruby argued. "You've got to pull him right away."

Ariel blinked, furrowing her brow in confusion. What the hell did that mean?

"Whoa," Dean said, stepping towards them with a frown. "Hold on a sec."

"Now's not the time to bellyache about Sam going dark side. He does his thing, he exorcises that demon, or we die."

 _Exorcise the demon?_ Ariel opened her mouth to ask what the hell they had even meant by that but the sound of the attic door opening had her shutting her mouth instantly as Ruby moved to stand next to her and Anna, the three of them crouching down. She would have to ask later. They had company.

Ariel's heart thundered in her chest and, even if the demon couldn't see them, she was certain he would be able to hear the sound of her heartbeat. She closed her eyes, breathing in a calming breath, trying to calm down slightly. But there was no way she could relax like this, with a demon less than a foot away from her and knowing that she was about to leave her brothers to fight an even worse demon.

The sound of footsteps coming up the steps had both Ariel and Ruby tense. Subtly, Anna shifted closer to Ariel, taking in a shuddery breath. She was scared, poor girl, and was depending on Ariel for...comfort? Protection? At least she was smart enough to know that Ariel was a better bet than Ruby.

The sound of footsteps stopped and Ariel had to fight the desire to peer around the stack of furniture they had hidden behind. The demon couldn't know they were there. She would have to wait until she knew it was distracted.

"That tickles," an unfamiliar voice drawled. "You don't have the juice to take me on, Sam."

Even the voice sent chills down Ariel's spine. Her grip tightened on her gun, taking some comfort from the fact that she at least had a weapon. It wouldn't do much to the demon, but it would at least slow it down.

The sound that followed was a loud _thud,_ and without clearly seeing what had happened, Ariel could only assume the worst.

"Hello Dean," that unfamiliar voice said, sounding almost… smug.

A sharp intake of breath had Ariel reacting before Ruby could, covering Anna's mouth before she could let loose with a scream. Her wide eyes looked into Ariel's, fear dancing in their brown depths. The girl was scared, Ariel could understand that. Hell, Ariel was scared too. But they had to be smart.

"Come on Dean, don't you recognize me? Oh, I forgot, I'm wearing a pediatrician. " The owner of the voice laughed humorlessly. "Well, perhaps you'll recognize me when I'm torturing that pretty little sister of yours and I make you watch."

Ariel's blood ran cold at his words and for just a moment she felt like she was going to be sick. Whoever this demon was, he knew Dean well, knew of his overprotective big brother tendencies.

"Alastair," Dean breathed, so quiet that Ariel almost didn't hear him.

Chancing a peek out from their hiding spot, Ariel was just in time to see Sam come from the stairwell, sliding the demon knife through the demon - Alastair's back, where his heart would be.

Recognizing that this was their chance to run, Ariel stood, using the hand that had been covering Anna's mouth to reach down to grip her wrist, yanking the other woman up and pulling her along after her as she dashed from the hiding place, Ruby close behind.

She didn't let herself look back to see her brothers, only willed herself to run _fastfastfaster_ because to stop or slow down would maybe mean letting the demon catch up and she couldn't let that happen. Protecting Anna was Ariel's job and she was going to make sure it was done right.

Content that Anna would keep up the pace, Ariel let go of her wrist, already digging into the messenger bag that rested against her hip, looking for her car keys. It was easy, the bag was small enough to not be a hassle and there were only a few things inside. Her fingers wrapped around the keys to the charger just as they reached the front doors of the church, bursting out into waning sunlight. Not bothering to walk along the designated path as they had when entering the church, Ariel darted across the well-maintained grass, yellow now in the middle of Fall. Her companions were right behind her, Anna's breaths coming out in ragged puffs. She wasn't used to this, to running so fast or so far. Probably, adrenaline was urging her forward.

Going around to the driver's side, Ariel unlocked the door quickly, sliding inside and unlocking the passenger door so that Ruby could let Anna into the back before sliding in the front seat herself. Only when Anna and Ruby were safely inside the car did Ariel chance a glance at the church doors. Her instinct was to drive away, but her heart yearned for her to go back, to check on her brothers and make sure they were okay and to help them fight this demon.

The sight of an unfamiliar face stepping out of the doors had her stomach clenching with anticipation.

"Ariel they'll be fine," Ruby yelled. "Go!"

Ariel slid the keys easily into the ignition, putting the car in drive and slamming down on the gas pedal.

* * *

The cabin was old and abandoned and smelled of must and mildew. There was no electricity, just some flashlights and two electric lanterns Ariel had grabbed from the trunk. The woods around them were thick and the road leading to the cabin that Levi had directed her to over the phone had been winding and confusing.

She had called the older hunter only after she had been sure that they had lost any demons that might have been on their tail and had asked him if he knew of anywhere that they could hide out. He had directed her to the cabin, claiming that he had used it a couple of times in his hunting days and that it was not exactly easy to find.

So they had hunkered down and waited, Ariel, moving through the cabin and demon-proofing it in every way that she knew how. Anna had taken a seat at a rickety old table, a blanket from the car wrapped around her shoulders as she made a meal out of the beef jerky and potato chips Ariel had stashed in the glove box, a can of Dr. Pepper open next to her.

She badly wanted to call her brothers but Ruby had advised her against it, telling her that, assuming they were alive, Alastair was definitely watching them and that, if he saw them answer the phone and then leave he would definitely know to follow them. Ruby would get the message to them somehow, and so her vessel lay on the cabin floor, unmoving. Ariel didn't have the stomach to check to see if she was dead, not with everything else that was going on. So instead, Ariel called her Uncle.

Her hand trembled as she held it to her ear, listening for the telltale sign that he had picked up. She badly needed to hear a familiar voice, and even more than that she needed somebody to comfort her, as she had been doing for Anna these past few hours.

" _Ari?"_ Bobby's voice spoke through the phone, making her visibly relax. Ariel could've sworn she could hear waves over the sound of his voice.

Lucky bastard.

"Hey," she breathed, leaning against the wall. Her gaze flashed for a moment to Anna who was pointedly not looking at Ariel, though Ari knew she had to be listening. There was nothing else to do in the cabin.

" _Everything okay?"_ Bobby asked immediately, concern lacing his town. He had been able to tell immediately by her voice that something was wrong.

"You know how you told me not to do anything reckless?" Ariel asked, already bracing herself for the reprimand she would get.

" _What did you do?"_

"I got a tip that there was a girl in Ohio who could talk to angels so… I went to investigate. Met up with Sam and Dean. We found her but got attacked by a demon. I got the girl away but Sam and Dean… we're separated and I haven't heard from them? I'm just worried."

" _Are you okay?"_ Bobby asked immediately.

"I'm fine, I promise. If… _when_ we meet back up with the boys we're going to take to the girl to our house. She'll be safer there than she is here."

" _Ari, if I know those boys they're doing just fine and are just licking their wounds. You call and let me know when you find them,"_ Bobby's voice was calm, steady, and full of reason even though Ariel knew he had to be irritated with her. She was glad that he wasn't taking this time to yell at her. _"Now, is there anything else?"_

Ariel hesitated for a moment, unsure if she wanted to tell him the other pieces of information she had, or even _how_ to bring it up to him.

"Ruby is back," she said finally. "And Sam and Dean knew about it. And… Sam has something going on. I don't know what but it's not good."

He was quiet for a moment, probably processing what she had told him. Ariel hated dropping this information on him while he was away, but she needed to tell somebody, and Bobby deserved to know.

" _We'll deal with that too,"_ Bobby assured her. _"I'll be home soon, Ariel. Keep me updated. I love you, kid."_

"I love you too."

When Ariel hung up, Anna twisted in her seat to look at her, offering Ariel a small smile. "Let me guess," she said. "That was either your mom or dad."

"Uncle," Ariel answered simply. "My parents are dead."

"Oh… "

Not for the first time since meeting her, Ariel felt a spark of sympathy for Anna. She had been forced into this, had not be prepared in any way beforehand. Her parents had been killed, she had been hunted by demons, and now she was stuck in a cabin with a girl she had never met and a maybe dead body.

"Sorry," Ariel said gently. "I'm just worried about my brothers, is all."

"If half the things the angels have said about them are true, they'll be fine," Anna assured her.

Ariel smiled softly at her, opening her mouth to thank her, when a stream of black smoke snaked through a window, using the gap Ariel had purposefully made in the salt to get inside. She went immediately to the window, spreading the salt back out once more so it formed a complete line along the window seal.

The smoke dove, going inside the body that lay on the floor. Ruby sat up instantly with a gasp to find both Anna and Ariel looking at her, Anna in surprise and Ariel expectantly.

"Are my brothers okay?" Ariel asked instantly.

Ruby took her sweet time answering, standing and brushing herself off before offering Ariel a lazy smile.

"They're fine," she said with a shrug.

Ariel looked at Ruby for a long moment, sizing her up before looking away. She didn't like this, working with Ruby and depending on her help to keep Anna safe. What she disliked, even more, was knowing that Sam and Dean had already been working with her and had kept it a secret from Ariel. It felt like a betrayal, and though she knew they had the habit of keeping things to themselves and trying to work out their own problems, she thought they would at least be open to telling her. Not for the first time, Ariel felt like there was an invisible line separating her from her siblings, and she hated it.

"You get the same look on your face that your brothers get when they're angsting over something?" Ruby commented, grinning wickedly when Ariel shot a glare your way.

If she had _this_ to look forward to until Sam and Dean showed up then she was going to be tempted to kill Ruby just to shut her up.

Not gracing her with a response, Ariel moved to take a seat next to Anna, stealing a chip from the bag and popping it into her mouth. She was hungry as hell, they hadn't really had an opportunity to stop for food while making the drive out here and Ariel hadn't eaten since lunch. Still, Anna had been living off of junk food for a few days so Ariel had forfeited what little food she had kept in her car to her.

"Well this is going to be fun if you're going to ignore me the whole time," Ruby said, moving to sit in the last remaining chair.

She had barely sat down before Ariel stood up, moving away again, giving Ruby a distasteful look. She didn't like her, and she certainly didn't _trust_ her. The sooner Sam and Dean got there, the better.

It was a while before they finally showed up, knocking on the door and waiting for Ariel to open it a moment later, gun cocked and ready.

She immediately lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Sam first before moving on to Dean.

"I'm glad you two are okay," she said, before looking at Sam. "But you have a lot to explain when this is all over."

He looked taken aback for a moment before nodding. "Yeah," he said. "Okay, Ari."

Ariel offered him a small smile before turning to lead the way into the room, leaving them to follow her.

"Glad you could make it," Ruby commented.

"Anna are you okay?" Sam asked immediately, moving to the redhead's side.

She looked up at him, offering him a smile and a nod. "Yeah, I think so. Ariel and Ruby saved my life."

Sam examined her for a long moment, gaze drifting to the blanket around her shoulders and then to the trash on the table from her meager meal.

"Yeah, Ariel is good for that," Dean complimented, making Ariel look at him in surprise. She hadn't expected him to say it, but it was nice to hear, nicer than Ariel would ever have thought it would be.

Dean offered her a small, warm smile before turning to look at Ruby. "I guess I owe you. For Sam. And I just wanted… you know… "

"Don't strain yourself, Dean," Ruby said, raising a brow expectantly.

"I just wanted to thank you," he sighed dramatically. "Okay, this moment is over. That was awkward."

Ruby snorted but nodded in recognition.

Ariel looked on, brow furrowed. Something more was obviously going on. Her desire for an explanation was growing more and more with each passing minute.

"Hey," Anna said suddenly, standing up. "Do you think it'd be safe to make a quick call, just to tell my parents I'm okay? They must be completely freaked."

"Uh… "

Ariel opened her mouth, expression shifting into one of panic as both Sam and Dean turned to look at her.

"You didn't tell her?" Dean asked gruffly.

"Well… I didn't know how," Ariel defended. Why was it her job, anyway? She didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, though admittedly she would likely handle it a lot better than either Sam or Dean would. She sighed before looking at Anna, who had been looking between the three with her eyes wide and expectant, a frown on her face.

She knew Ariel realized. It was pretty obvious the exchange she and Dean had just had. She knew, but she still needed it to be put into words, still needed someone to tell her outright. Ariel's heart broke for her.

"Anna, I'm so sorry," Ariel began. "They're… gone."

" _No!"_ Anna gasped, a low sob tearing from her throat as she reached up to tug uselessly at her hair. "Why is this happening to me? Why-," she froze suddenly, spine going ramrod straight as she straightened up, eyes widening. "They're coming."

"Where's the knife?" Ruby asked instantly. Her face quickly shifted into one of disbelief when she saw the sheepish expressions on both Sam and Dean's faces. "You didn't."

"Hey," Dean said. "Don't look at me."

"Gee," Sam huffed. "Thanks."

They didn't have time for this. Yes, it sucked that they lost the knife, but they would just have to make do.

"Ruby, back room," Ariel said interrupting them, gesturing to Anna. "Take her."

The demon hesitated for a moment before nodding and moving forward to grip Anna by the elbow, guiding her towards the only door in the cabin, taking one of the electric lanterns with them. The door closed behind them a moment later, just as Sam turned to face Ariel, opening his mouth.

"Don't," Ariel said immediately, cutting him off, already anticipating what he was going to say. "You already made me leave you guys behind at the church. I am not doing it here. And don't you try to convince me either!" She added sternly, turning to look at Dean.

Both of her brothers looked at her for a long moment, standing before them with her jaw set stubbornly. There would be no convincing her otherwise, and they quickly seemed to realize that.

The door rattled violently, catching all of their attention and making them whip around to face it. Ariel reached for her gun, pulling it free from the waistband of her skirt just as it burst open.

Ariel didn't recognize the tall, black man who entered first but the man behind him made her heart skip a beat.

Not a man, Ariel reminded herself. An _angel._

She wasn't even sure why she was having such a reaction, it was involuntary. All she knew was that her mouth felt very dry as she stared up at Castiel, and Ariel didn't fucking know why.

This was the first time she had seen him since that night in the warehouse unless she was counting in her dreams, which she also didn't have an explanation for. Everything surrounding the blue-eyed angel was a mystery, an enigma, and Ariel hated it. She wanted an explanation, wanted to know why she had dreamed about Castiel before she had even met him.

She glanced at the man who was with him, guessing that he was an angel as well. That was a good thing, right? It meant that they were here to protect Anna, didn't it? Which would be great, because Ariel was tired and hungry and if she and her brothers didn't have to do this by themselves that would be… well, almost too good to be true.

"Please tell me you're here to help," Dean said, putting what Ariel had been thinking into words. "We've been having demon issues all day."

Well, _that_ was an understatement. Demon issues felt more akin to a demon emergency.

"Well I can see that," the unfamiliar angel said in a voice that was full of bass. "You want to explain why you've been accepting help from that _stain._ " He tilted his head to the doorway to the back room where Ruby and Anna were hiding.

"We're here for Anna," Castiel said, wasting no time.

"Here for her?" Ariel asked, furrowing her brow. "What does that mean?" It certainly didn't _sound_ good.

"Stop talking," the other angel snapped, catching Ariel by surprise. "Give her to us."

"Are you going to help her?" Sam asked.

"No," Castiel shook his head slowly. "She has to die."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has followed and favorited, and reviewed. Don't have much to say here except that I would really appreciate some feedback!**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

" _People who try hard to do the right thing always seem mad."_

Stephen King

"No," Castiel said, shaking his head. "She has to die."

He moved immediately towards the back room, but the small one, Sam and Dean's sister immediately moved, interjecting herself in Castiel's direct path to the room where Anna was hiding.

He looked down at her in surprise. He could _feel_ the fear the radiated off of her, she was perfectly aware that Castiel could smite her, could end her with a simple snap of his fingers. And yet, here she was standing before him, feet firmly planted on the ground, hands clenched into trembling fists at her sides.

Her blue eyes stared up into his, wide and full of fear and something else he could not quite place.

"Stop," Ariel said, and despite the fact that she was obviously terrified her voice remained steady. "This isn't right."

Dean and Sam were looking anxiously at their sister, obviously not liking how she had moved potentially into harm's way. If she was anything like either of them, neither Sam nor Dean should have been surprised.

"You don't understand," Castiel said.

None of them did. He didn't _want_ to do this, but orders were orders. Anna had to die.

"Then explain it to us," Ariel was gazing up at him imploringly now as if that would help their case. "We saved her, you could at least give us an explanation."

"Yeah," Sam spoke up suddenly, in agreement with his sister. "Why do you want Anna?"

He succeeded in drawing away both Castiel and Uriel's attention away from Ariel for a moment, but Castiel could still feeling Ariel looking at him, gaze unwavering.

He had only met her once briefly, but to Ariel's credit, she _had_ made an impression. While her Uncle and Brother had been staring at him in shock as he approached them in the warehouse, she had fired off the first few shots. She had been scared then too, unsure of who or what he was, and yet she had not hesitated. Just like she hadn't hesitated to put herself in the direct path of Castiel and Anna, even though she knew it would not do much good.

Castiel could remember clearly what she had said to him that night too, her voice ringing out clearly as she looked at him in shock.

" _I saw you. In a dream."_

Castiel had thought about that moment a lot since then, wondering just why Ariel had been dreaming of him in the first place. He knew for a fact that she had not been lying, and in fact, could think of no reason why she would. He also knew she was not a Prophet or a psychic. So what sense did it make for Ariel Winchester to be having dreams about Castiel?

She didn't know either, and that night weeks beforehand she had seemed confused and… almost hopeful that he would have an explanation for her.

She was hopeful now too, Castiel realized. Hopeful that he would change his mind, decide not to kill Anna, and would turn around and leave the way he had come, taking Uriel with him.

"Out of the way," Uriel boomed, unimpressed with the line of opposition the Winchesters had formed between them and Anna.

"No!" Ariel snapped, turning her attention to Uriel now and narrowing her eyes into a glare. She was scared of him too, Castiel realized but was better at hiding it. There were no conflicting thoughts or emotions for Uriel, only a fierce determination to keep him away from Anna.

"Whoa whoa whoa," Dean said, holding his hands up in surrender. Castiel knew he didn't want Ariel anywhere near the angels, his protectiveness for his little sister almost overwhelming. Better to just draw their attention to him. "Okay, I know she's wiretapping your angel chats or whatever, but it's no reason to gank her."

"Don't worry, I'll kill her gentle," Uriel sneered.

Castiel felt a spark of rage from Ariel, her emotions turbulent and easy to read. She opened her mouth to say something to Uriel but Dean cut her off with his familiar, judgemental tone.

"You're some heartless sons of bitches, you know that?"

"As a matter of fact, we are," Castiel agreed, uncaring that it had been meant as an insult. He was a _soldier_ , he wasn't meant to get caught up in emotions. He had jobs to do and he did them. "And?"

" _And_ she's an innocent girl," Ariel huffed. "And you're angels. You're supposed to be _good._ You're supposed to help people. Do you just… go around killing any human who's a minor inconvenience to you?"

"Would you like to find out?" Uriel took a step closer and, to her credit, Ariel did not flinch away but met his gaze evenly, jaw set stubbornly.

She would not be so easily intimidated, even if the prospect of fighting an angel scared her.

Castiel couldn't help but admire that. She would be a good soldier, willing to face her fears instead of run from them. At least, she would be a good soldier if she didn't succumb to her emotions so easily.

"She is far from innocent," Castiel told her, though he didn't elaborate further. They didn't need to know any more than that.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked, confusion plastered across his face.

"It means she's worse than that abomination you've been screwing," Uriel yelled, gesturing vaguely towards the back room where they knew Ruby was hiding with Anna. "Now give us the girl."

"Sorry," Dean said snidely. "Get yourself another one. Try _JDate_."

"Who's gonna stop us?" Uriel chuckled, obviously amused that they actually thought they could stop them. "You three? That demon whore in there?"

Uriel moved to go towards the room again but Sam moved to intercept them. With a simple jerk of his hand, Uriel sent Sam flying back against the far wall of the room, earning a groan of pain from man.

Castiel had grown tired of this conversation as well and made to move around Ariel, but she reached out suddenly, placing a hand on his arm to stop him.

"Wait," she pleaded. "It doesn't have to be like this."

She sounded so hopeful, so unlike her brothers in her more gentle approach. Was this really the same girl who had opened fire on him that night in the warehouse?

Castiel looked down on her small hand resting on his arm for a moment, before looking back up at her, unsure whether he was annoyed or impressed that she was trying so valiantly to appeal to his better nature.

She didn't understand, and her ignorance was not her fault, and so it was better to not think anything about it at all. Without a word, he reached up to place two fingers to her forehead, watching as her eyes fluttered shut and she crumpled to the ground.

"Damnit Cas!" Dean yelled, looking between his brother and sister, unsure which to help first. Finally, he settled on Sam, running at Uriel who grinned wickedly.

"I've been waiting for this!" Uriel drew his fist back before punching Dean in the face, sending him staggering back.

Uriel had never been the stoic, unfeeling warrior that Castiel prided himself on being. He had always easily succumbed to his anger and this was a prime example of it. Dean Winchester was the last person in the world he needed to be engaging in a fist fight.

Without a word, Castiel moved forward to put a stop to the fight, but before he could make it to them a blinding light filled the room.

And then there was nothing.

* * *

The drive to Pamela's house was long, a longer drive than Ariel actually felt like making at the moment, but she knew she would have a far better chance convincing Pamela to help them out than either Sam or Dean would.

After last time, after she had been _blinded,_ Ariel wouldn't blame the woman if she told them all to go to Hell. Maybe they deserved it for even dragging Pamela into everything in the first place.

The guilt that Ariel felt over the whole thing left a sour taste in her mouth. They had asked Pamela to help them find answers, they had gone to her and asked for a favor, and out of the goodness of her heart, she had agreed. Ariel knew that even going back to her with another favor was more than they had any right to ask for.

But they had nowhere else to turn. They needed answers from Anna that Anna was unable to give simply because _she didn't remember_. Pamela would hopefully be able to tap into those memories.

Everything surrounding Anna was really one big question mark. Why did she have these abilities? Why did the angels want her dead? Why had they called her an abomination? What were they going to do about Anna moving forward? If demons were after her that sucked but they knew how to ward against demons. But angels trying to kill her? They didn't know how to deal with that, really.

Except…

Anna had drawn a sigil with her blood on the back of the door in the backroom that had cast Castiel and the other angel, Uriel, away.

After Sam and Dean had coaxed Ariel awake they had pointed out the sigil and Ariel had snapped a picture of it with the old Polaroid that she carried with her on hunts for occasions just like that.

Ariel and Bobby's house was clearly the safest place for Anna, at least as far as protecting her from demons, so Sam and Dean had taken Anna and Ruby there and Ariel… well, she was just fine being the one to go get Pamela. They needed answers, and Pamela was their best bet on getting them.

Now Ariel sat in the driver's seat of her Charger, trying to work up the nerve to walk up to Pamela's front door. She already knew they were coming, Ariel had called her before she had even started the drive, but it was one thing to talk to her on the phone and another thing to be faced with her in person after what happened.

Since Pamela had been blinded Ariel had called her once a week ever since, like clockwork with the intention of checking on her friend and making sure everything was going okay. Pamela had seemed exasperated by the special attention mostly but had also seemed to realize that nothing she could stay would get Ariel to stop. If she _didn't_ answer the phone, Ariel and Bobby would assume the worst and just drive to check on her.

Sucking in a breath, Ariel pushed her car door open and stepped out into the sunlight, feeling impossibly tired. She had driven through the night, stopping only for gas and food and exhaustion had settled into the core of her very bones. She knew it was optimistic to assume that when she got Pamela back to the house that she'd get to rest.

She had mounted the steps and had barely knocked twice before the door was swung open by Pamela who peered at Ariel with pure white eyes.

No, Ariel corrected herself. Pamela didn't peer at anything anymore. Castiel had burned her eyes away and these would be poor replacements made of glass or plastic.

"Hey," Ariel said after a moment, unsure of what else to say.

"Hey kiddo," Pamela gestured her inside, closing the door behind her to keep the cold out.

It was dark inside the house, Pamela obviously not having much use for lights anymore. Without a word, Ariel reached out to flick the switch on.

"So you need me to dive into a girl's mind," Pamela commented, moving past Ariel and into the living room where she immediately sat in her recliner.

"Just to get a little sneak peek," Ariel elaborated, taking a seat on the couch. "Look into the things that she can't remember. We think it will help."

"'We' being you and your brothers."

"Uncle Bobby has an idea of what's going on," Ariel told her quickly. "Look I know what he said before he left, but I already did the reckless thing. And now we have to deal with the aftermath. Which I need your help for."

"You must be really in need of my help if you're asking for a favor to help you with _angels_ after what happened last time," Pamela said. As always she was blunt and straight to the point.

Ariel opened her mouth, as if to say something but paused, mouth agape, when she realized she didn't know what to say. Pamela had addressed exactly what made Ariel uncomfortable about the whole situation, as was her habit. But still, Ariel was surprised and awkward because Pamela had really hit the nail on the head with that one.

"Well… I uh-"

Pamela laughed then, tilting her head back as a smile spread across her face. Ariel was glad that at least one of them found this situation amusing.

"Relax, Ari. I'm screwing with you. I don't blame you for what happened before. And you don't have to feel bad about asking for my help now. I'm your _friend_ Ari. There isn't a whole lot that I wouldn't do for you."

Ariel blinked, Pamela's words hitting home. Ariel knew the other woman wasn't the sentimental type, knew that she didn't say things she didn't mean. It made her words heavier, more meaningful.

"Thank you," Ariel said finally, feeling as if she were on the verge of tears. It was one thing for Bobby or her brothers to say things like that, they were _family._ Pamela had no obligations to Ari, could tell her to go to Hell and really wash her hands of her. But, no. Pamela was her _friend._ It meant more to Ariel than she could ever put into words.

"Don't mention it, kid. So I guess we should be off then. I can drive if you want."

Ariel's laughter, clear and bright as a bell, filled the house then, and for the first time in the past day, Ariel felt like for once things might go their way.

* * *

Sam and Dean both looked up at the sound of the basement door opening, footsteps following a moment later.

Ariel had called to let them know that she was on her way back with Pamela, but neither of her brothers had expected her back so soon. She must have sped the whole way home.

They walked through the door a moment later, Ariel leading the way and looking tired as hell, with Pamela behind her, wearing a pair of dark sunglasses.

"Pamela," Sam said, standing up. He had only met the woman once, but already he felt a sort of fondness for her. It was well-deserved, in any case. She had been blinded trying to help them after all. "Hey."

"Sam?"

"Yeah."

She reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Sam, is that you?" She asked.

"I'm right here," he assured her, patting her hand in a consoling manner. He couldn't imagine the kind of adjustment it would take from being able to see _beyond_ what normal people could to being about to see virtually nothing.

"Oh. Know how I can tell?" Pamela reached around them, grabbing a handful of Sam's ass and smirking when he gave a yelp of surprise. "That perky little ass of yours," she explained. "You could bounce a nickel off that thing."

Sam stared at her for a moment, astounded by how blunt she was. He didn't mind so much, really, but her forwardness would take some getting used to.

"Ew," Ariel commented, earning a snort of laughter from Dean. She moved forward, taking Sam's now vacated seat and stifling a huge yawn. She had to be tired, Sam knew. They were all tired.

"Of course I know it's you, Grumpy," Pamela said, patting his shoulder and smiling playfully. "Same way I know that's a demon," she tilted her head in Ruby's direction. "And that poor girl's Anna and that you've been eyeing my rack."

"Ew," Ariel repeated boredly while Sam stammered, too surprised to even attempt to defend himself.

"Don't sweat it, kiddo. It's like I keep trying to tell Ari, I still got more senses than most."

"Got it," Sam said weakly, once he was finally able to get coherent words out. He moved to take a seat next to Ariel, noting that both Dean and Ruby looked amused at his struggle.

Bastards

"Hey, Anna. How are you?" Pamela asked kindly, crouching down next to the bed where Anna sat. "I'm Pamela."

For the most part, Anna had kept quiet, laying down briefly, but Sam didn't think she had been able to sleep. He couldn't blame her either, there was a lot going on and her entire life had just been uprooted. She had been keeping mostly to herself, sitting in silence while Sam and Dean worked to figure out the plan moving forward.

Now that she was faced with Pamela, Anna managed a weak smile despite the fact that Anna could not see it. "Hi."

"Ariel told me what's been going on," Pamela explained patiently. She wasn't being her usual blunt self here, and Sam appreciated. They didn't need Anna anymore nervous than she already was. "I'm excited to help."

"Oh," Anna sounded surprised. "That's nice of you."

"Oh, well, not really. Any chance I can dick over an angel, I'm taking it."

There she was, typical Pamela shining through. From beside him, Sam heard Ariel let out a tiny chuckle, shaking her head slightly.

"Why?" Anna asked curiously.

"They took something from me," Pamela explained before taking her sunglasses off, revealing her eyes to Anna. Sam wasn't sure what condition she was in, if her eye sockets had been left empty or if she had gotten something to fill them. Sam genuinely hoped it was the latter.

Pamela slid the sunglasses back on and gave Anna a humorless smile. "Demon-y, I know. But they're good for business. Makes me look extra-psychic, don't you think? Now, how about you tell me what your deal is, hmmm. Don't you worry."

Somehow, Sam doubted that made her worry any less.

Pamela reached forward, easing Anna down to lay flat on the bed, her head pressed into the pillow and her hands clenching and unclenching into fists at her side. She was nervous, and Sam couldn't blame her.

"Alright," Pamela said, straightening up. "I want you to get nice and relaxed. Now, I'm going to count down from five to zero. When we're at zero you'll be in a deep state of hypnosis. As I count, just go deeper and deeper, okay?" Pamela spoke so matter-of-factly, her words leaving absolutely no doubt that it would work. Sam couldn't help but wonder how many times she had done this very thing before.

"5… 4… 3… 2… 1. Deep sleep," Pamela said soothingly. "Deep sleep. Every muscle calm and relaxed. Can you hear me?"

"I can hear you," Anna responded promptly, her eyes closed and her body stock still. Her voice came out monotonous, almost like a robot. It sent a chill of Sam's spine.

The other's had moved closer now, he noticed. Dean and Ruby had both had their interests piqued and had wandered over, Ruby keeping a good distance away, but Dean was just over Pamela's shoulder, peering directly down at Anna.

Even Ariel had gotten up and moved closer, giving Ruby a wide berth as if she had some sort of contagious sickness. Sam longed to grab his sister by the shoulders and tell her with no uncertain doubt that Ruby was _okay._ She wasn't like other demons. She had saved Sam's life. He would have to tell Ariel the whole story, she knew that he had kept too much hidden from her for him to continue lying, but that didn't mean he was excited about it. And even when Sam laid all of his cards out on the table, even after he had explained everything to her, there was still a chance that she wouldn't accept it, wouldn't understand why he had made the choices he made.

Sam stood, moving silently to stand beside Ariel as she looked curiously at Anna and Pamela.

"Now Anna," Pamela began. "Tell me… how can you hear angels? How did you work that spell?"

"I don't know," Anna responded. "I just did."

"Your father… what's his name?"

"Rich Milton." Came the prompt response, Anna still in a deep state of hypnosis.

"All right," Pamela said. "But I want you to look further back… When you were very young… Just a couple of years old… "

"I don't want to." Anna whimpered, the first time the inflection of emotion had entered her voice since Pamela put her under.

"It'll be okay, Anna. Just one look - that's all we need," Pamela assured her but Anna, hypnotized or not, did not seem convinced.

"No," she said firmly, perhaps even with a hint of stubbornness in her tone.

"What's your dad's name?" Pamela pressed on. "Your real dad. Why is he so angry at you?"

" _No!"_ Anna screamed, beginning to flail wildly on the bed. _"No! No! No!"_

"Calm down," Pamela said soothingly, holding a hand out to stop the others as they all began to move forward.

Sam felt Ariel tense next to him, her bottom lip tugged between her teeth nervously. She wanted to rush forward to calm Anna down as much as Sam did, but they knew better. Pamela was trying to get information that would ultimately help them. That was worth a little discomfort on Anna's end.

"He's gonna kill me!" Anna screamed, still flailing around, tears now leaking from the corner of her eyes.

"It's all right, Anna," Pamela assured her.

"Anna?"

Where Sam and Ariel had sense enough to listen to Pamela, it seemed that Dean did not. He moved towards the redhead, expression full of concern, but the moment he got too close, Anna jerked and Dean was sent flying back.

"Shit!"

Ariel had dashed from Sam's side in an instant, moving to crouch next to Dean. She looked perplexed, and worried, and basically every other emotion that Sam was feeling. Just what in the Hell was going on?

He was torn, part of him wanting to check on Dean himself but the other part of him wanting to watch as Pamela worked. He chose the latter, reasoning that Ariel had already rushed to Dean's side and if anything was wrong she would have said something.

"Wake in 1,2,3,4,5," Pamela counted quickly this time, expression troubled. This clearly had not gone the way she had expected. "Anna… Anna, are you all right?"

"Thank you, Pamela," Anna said, sitting up and turning to place her feet on the floor. "That helps a lot. I remember now?"

"Remember what?" Ariel asked, peering at Anna with a furrowed brow from her spot next to Dean.

"Who I am," Anna responded simply, standing up.

"All right" Dean sighed heavily, moving to stand up as well. "I'll bite. Who are you?"

Anna looked at him, expression clear and her gaze sharp and intelligent. She almost didn't seem like the same girl from before. She held herself differently, her spine rod-straight and her chin held high.

"An angel," she said.

* * *

The sound of the tea kettle whistling sharply made Ariel jump and she turned away from the others, moving to pour a mug for herself and Sam.

"Don't be afraid," Anna spoke from her seat on the couch, her words seemingly addressed in Ariel's direction. "I'm not like the others."

Ariel sucked in a sharp breath, wanting very badly to whip around and snap at Anna that she _wasn't_ scared but the truth was… Ariel didn't know what she felt. Her grip tightened around the grip of the tea kettle as she poured some of it out into a plain black mug for Sam before pouring the rest into her Bugs Bunny mug, allowing the tea bags she had placed inside each to steep.

"I don't find that reassuring," Ariel said finally.

"Neither do I," Pamela agreed.

The thing was, Ariel didn't know what to think. She had only dealt with the angels twice and didn't feel like she knew enough about them or their intents to make an informed decision. She wanted to believe that they were good, that if God did exist he had their backs but the angels had not seemed terribly helpful thus far.

Hell, they had tried to murder Anna for God's sake and hadn't bothered to explain. Maybe they had a good reason, maybe it was a _great_ reason even, but they had kept it to themselves. Despite Ariel _wanting_ the angels to be good, every bit of evidence they had suggested the contrary, that they were huge, bulging dicks.

And yet…

And yet Ariel could not shake the image of Castiel's face from her mind. She had been having _dreams_ about him, and that certainly wasn't normal but there had to be a reason. He had pulled Dean out of Hell. He could have _killed_ her the night before in that cabin but he hadn't.

They may seem like assholes, but Ariel had a feeling that wasn't the entire story. Or at least she really hoped it wasn't.

"So… Castiel, Uriel - they're the ones that came for me?" Anna asked just as Ariel began to shovel sugar into her tea. She always had preferred it overly sweet.

"You know them?" Sam asked, accepting the mug Ariel offered him when she returned, eying Anna warily.

"We were kind of in the same foxhole," Anna explained.

"So, what, were they like your bosses or something?" Dean asked, raising a brow.

Anna smirked slightly. "Try the other way around."

This girl was just full of surprises, wasn't she?

Dean turned, exchanging a surprised look with Sam and Ariel. None of them had expected her to say something like that. Least of all Ariel. Castiel and Uriel had both seemed so… in charge? Domineering? Especially Uriel.

"But now they want to kill you?" Pamela asked. She sounded on edge, wary. Ariel couldn't blame her. She had been perfectly willing to screw over the angels but now they had found out that Anna _was_ an angel.

Why couldn't these things ever be easy?

"Orders are orders. I'm sure I have a death sentence on my head." Anna said with a shrug.

"Why?" Ariel couldn't help but ask, blinking in surprise. If she was an angel, why would they want to kill her?

"I disobeyed… which, for us, is about the worst thing you can do. I fell."

"Meaning?" Dean asked expectantly.

"She fell to Earth, became human," Pamela said immediately, not waiting for Anna to supply an answer.

She _fell_? Like _Lucifer?_ Ariel couldn't help but stare at Anna, jaw dropped slightly in shock. Anna seemed so… what? Sweet? Innocent? Certainly, she didn't seem like the type who would rebel and be cast out of Heaven.

More than that though, it didn't explain how Anna had become human. When Lucifer fell he had become the _devil._ Not to mention, Anna had clearly _grown._ There had been photos all through her parents' house documenting the journey from infancy to adulthood.

"I don't understand," Ariel said finally. "You fell and just… became human?"

Anna smiled softly, in a way that implied she understood just what Ariel, and likely the rest of them, were struggling to understand.

"It kind of hurts," she said. "Try cutting your kidney out with a butter knife. That kind of hurt. I ripped out my grace."

Ariel winced slightly at the comparison. If Anna ripped her grace out herself, did that mean she had chosen to fall? Or had they kicked her out of Heaven?

And what even was grace anyway, besides the basic definition that Ariel knew.

"Come again?" Dean had his arms crossed over his chest as he looked down at Anna, expression questioning.

"My grace. It's… energy. Hacked it out and fell. My mother, Amy, couldn't get pregnant. Always called me her little miracle. She had no idea how right she was."

Miracle. Right, a heavenly miracle who had _hacked_ out her grace as she plummeted to Earth. Anna's parents would have had no idea about that. Probably for the better. Ariel had realized long ago that most people were better off staying oblivious to what was _really_ out there.

"So you just forgot that you were God's little _Power Ranger_?" Dean asked.

Anna nodded. "The older I got, the longer I was human, yeah."

She was being incredibly patient, answering their questions like this. And it seemed as if they had an unending stream of questions for her. It couldn't be easy, sitting there and explaining everything to them. Especially since Anna had only just gotten these memories back and hadn't had time to process everything before they were throwing their questions at her left and right.

Not for the first time, Ariel felt a wave of sympathy for Anna. She had fallen from Heaven, lost _everything_ she had ever known, had carved her grace out herself. And then, blessedly she had forgotten all of that only for her world to be thrown into chaos _again._ Voices in her head, demons and angels trying to kill her, her parents murdered. Anna had proven herself to be incredibly resilient, even when she _didn't_ remember being an angel.

"I don't think you all appreciate how completely screwed we are," Ruby commented suddenly, drawing everyone's attention to her.

She was standing back, away from the group a bit, with her arms crossed over her head. She didn't _look_ like she was concerned, expression schooled into one of boredom. Ariel didn't imagine that Ruby would ever actually look _worried_ about anything if she could help it.

Part of Ariel wanted to tell the demon that if she thought they were so screwed then she could get the fuck out of Ariel's house. Ariel hadn't even wanted her here anyway, but Sam had insisted on it, and Ariel had been too exhausted to argue.

"Ruby's right," Anna said. "Heaven wants me dead."

"And Hell just wants her," Ruby added. "A flesh-and-blood angel that you can question, torture, that bleeds," she gave a dry, humorless laugh. "Sister you're the Stanley Cup. And sooner or later, Heaven or Hell, they're gonna find you."

"I know," Anna replied calmly. "And that's why I'm going to get it back."

Sam turned to look at her fully, brow furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"My grace." Was her simple reply.

"You can do that?" Dean asked, looking just as confused as Sam.

Ariel had to agree with Dean, hacking her grace out sounded awfully permanent.

"If I can find it."

"So, what?" Dean scoffed. "You're just gonna take some divine bong hit and _shazam,_ you're Rona Downey?"

Anna shrugged again. "Something like that."

"Where is it?" Ariel asked. "Your grace I mean."

Somehow Ariel doubted it would be in a convenient spot. Their luck just wasn't that good.

"I lost track," Anna admitted sheepishly. "I was falling about 10,000 miles per hour at the time."

 _Of course._ Nothing could ever be easy.

"Wait. You mean falling, like, literally?" Sam asked, eyes stretching wide in awe.

"Yes," Anna said with a nod.

"Like the way a human eye can see?" He asked eagerly. "Like a comet or a meteor?"

Ariel already had some clue where he was going with this and without a word she moved quickly to retrieve her laptop from her computer bag where she had set in on the desk, pulling it out and taking a seat.

"Why do you ask?" Anna asked,

"Well," Ariel began. "If humans _could_ see it, then we should be able to track where it fell."

* * *

This was the third cup of coffee Ariel had had.

Sam eyed his sister, concerned. She had to be tired, they all were. Hunts were always exhausting. But Ariel looked like she was ready to pass out on the spot, her eyes drooping and her head bobbing each time she began to drift off and caught herself.

They had been at this for hours, Sam and Ariel doing research while Dean opted to drive Pamela home, not wanting any part of the 'coma-inducing research' as he had put it.

It had been fine at first, Ariel putting on a record to fill the silence while Anna rested in the guest room and Ruby paced restlessly, waiting for someone to come up with something.

The house smelled of coffee, strong and invigorating, but Ariel had been going through it quickly while Sam was still on his first cup.

Her head bobbed again, Ariel catching herself once more and sitting up pin-straight, blinking rapidly as if that would make the exhaustion go away.

"Ari," Sam said finally.

She looked up at him with a start, almost as if she had forgotten he was there at all. "Yeah?" She asked, stifling a yawn.

"Go to sleep."

She blinked, surprise flitting across her face. "But… research," She gestured to her computer, stifling another yawn.

"You need to sleep," Sam told her. "I slept on the drive earlier but you haven't had the chance. Go upstairs and rest. I've got this."

She looked as if she wanted to argue, looking back at her laptop for a long moment before her exhaustion must have finally won and she closed it, standing with a sigh. "Fine," she said. "Wake me up if you need me."

He wouldn't, but Ariel already knew that. He would do his very best to make sure that she didn't wake up until the following morning when she had had a full night's sleep.

Ariel offered Sam a sleepy smile before moving towards the stairs, leaving Sam and Ruby alone.

Ruby watched her go, before turning to give Sam a look.

"Really?" She asked. "Don't you think you would find something a lot faster if she was helping?"

"I think Ariel needs sleep," Sam said, turning his attention back to the old magazine he had open in his lap. Bobby never disappointed when it came to research materials. "Besides, I think I might have found something."

Ruby approached, taking a seat beside Sam so she could lean over to look at what he was pointing at in the magazine.

"Here. In March '85, a meteorite vanished in the night sky over northwestern Ohio. It was sighted nine months before Anna was born and she was born in that part of Ohio." Sam explained.

Ruby turned to Sam, looking him over appreciatively. "You're pretty buff for a nerd," she commented.

"Look," he said, ignoring her. He wasn't in the mood for her flirting right now. "I think it was Anna and here, same time - another meteor over Kentucky."

"And that's her grace?" Ruby asked.

"Might be."

"All right," Ruby sighed. "That narrows it down to an _entire state_."

"Look," Sam defended. "It's a start."

"Sam… I'm sorry," Ruby bit her lip, looking away.

Sam blinked, confused, wondering just what in the world Ruby could be apologizing for. She just wasn't the type to offer an apology willingly. If she was wrong, she was more likely to stubbornly ignore it and move on.

"For what?" He asked.

"For bringing you this mess," she explained. "If I had known, I would have kept my mouth shut."

"Hey," Sam said firmly, making her look at him again. "If you hadn't said something Dean and I might never have investigated it and Ariel would have gone in alone and there's no telling what would have happened. By telling us, you might have saved Ariel's life."

Ruby blinked, looking surprised. "Sam, I don't think you get how _bad_ this is," she said. "It's Godzilla and Mothra. If one doesn't get us, the other will."

"We'll figure it out," Sam assured her. "Look, the trouble is worth it if it means Ariel is alright. I don't think you get how important she is to Dean and me."

An understatement. Sam and Dean would go through hell for each other and Ariel was no exception. But there was something different about her, something special. She was their baby sister, yes but sometimes she felt like the last thing in their life that was good and pure and innocent.

"She might not be alright much longer," Ruby pointed out. "The angels are bad enough, but it's Alastair that I'm really worried about."

"Alastair?"

"You met him in the church. Practically the grand inquisitor downstairs. Picasso with a razor."

Sam didn't look impressed. The truth was he and Dean had dealt with their fair share of _really bad shit._ They usually came out the other side okay. Usually. This Alastair guy might be bad, but it was nothing he and his brother couldn't deal with.

Except…

Ruby was acting like this guy was the baddest of the bad. And Ruby didn't get scared often. Part of Sam wondered if her trepidation was well-placed and this guy really was as bad as she implied.

"And?" Sam asked, ignoring his reservations, his voice full of bravado.

" _And_ you should pull him out and throw him back in the pit… if you weren't so out of shape."

"Ruby," Sam groaned, turning away and standing up, stepping away from the couch. She followed him, reaching out to grab his arm, stopping him.

"No, your abilities - you're getting flabby."

"Yeah?" He asked sarcastically, turning to face her. "How do I tone up?"

He already knew where she was going with this of course, but there was no way. He was done with that for one thing and for another, Ariel was just upstairs. Sam had yet to tell her, though he had promised he would. The last thing he wanted was for her to come downstairs to _witness_ it.

"You know how," Ruby hissed, eyes narrowing.

"No," Sam snapped, jerking his arm away. "I'm not doing that anymore."

"Sam… "

"I said no," he said coldly.

She looked at him for a long moment, lips tightened into a thin line. "Fine," she said finally. "You'd better pray that Anna gets her groove back, or we're all dead."

With that she turned to walk away without another word and Sam was left to stare after her, arms crossed over his chest.

* * *

Ariel felt like she had only just closed her eyes before someone was knocking on the door once more, rousing her from shallow sleep.

She groaned, opening her eyes and staring into the darkness. She couldn't have been asleep long, and a quick glance at her alarm clock was all the indication she needed that it had only been about an hour.

The knocking came again, more insistent this time, and before Ariel could say anything the door burst open and Dean strolled in, flicking on the light.

"Up and at 'em, kiddo. We got to go."

" _Dean,"_ Ariel whined, shielding her eyes. "What the actual fuck?"

She had not been expecting him to just let himself in and attempt to burn her retinas out, and if she was feeling just a little less exhausted, she might have berated him for just barging into her bedroom.

"Sammy has an idea of where Anna's grace ended up. We're headed out now. If you're coming, then come on."

She peeked at him then, through the shield of her hands, to find him looking at her expectantly. This was a test, she knew, and there was only one correct answer. If she wanted them to treat her like an equal when it came to hunts then she had to put her big girl pants on and get her ass out of bed, even if she didn't want to. And she _really_ didn't want to.

"Yeah okay," she said, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Give me like five minutes to change and I'll meet you downstairs."

Somehow she doubted that a silky nightgown was appropriate hunting wear, although some could argue that her preferred skirt and dresses weren't either.

Dean hummed in assent before turning and leaving, pulling the door closed behind him.

Ariel stifled a yawn as she slipped from between the comfort of her sheets, getting dressed quickly and tossing a few more changes of clothes into the duffel bag she had left open on her desk. Her toiletries had formed a layer of debris across the bottom since Ariel had not had a chance to organize or unpack since they had gotten back. It was a good thing too, she never would have thought that she'd be back on the road so soon.

She left her room, flicking the light off and adjusting her duffel bag over her shoulder. The others were waiting downstairs by the door, Ruby looking quite agitated over something and Sam and Dean just looking exhausted. They were all running low on fuel, it seemed.

"Dean is with them," Sam explained as Ariel approached. "I'll drive your car so you can get some sleep."

"Sounds good to me," Ariel said with a shrug. Grabbing her satchel bag by the front door, Ariel fished out her keys and tossed them to Sam. "She has to last me until I get the Impala though so you'd better not wreck her."

Dean laughed at that but Sam just rolled his eyes, moving past them to open the door and stepping out into darkness.

The bitter chill of fall in South Dakota sent a chill up Ariel's spine immediately, and though she had put on a leather jacket, it wasn't doing much to chase away the chill. She really wished this whole thing was over so she could be in her warm bed. Or any bed really, she wasn't feeling particularly picky at the moment.

She followed Sam outside, depositing her duffel bag into the trunk before sliding into the passenger seat and settling in, just as he took a seat in the driver's side, snorting slightly at the awkward way he had to bend his legs up in order to fit.

"I'm surprised you don't have a booster seat to help you see out the windshield," Sam commented as he adjusted the seat, grinning at the glare Ariel gave him.

It just didn't seem fair sometimes that Sam was 6'4 while Ariel had only reached the staggering height of 5'0 before she had stopped growing completely. Hell, even Dean was 6'1. Both of her brothers loved to tease Ariel about the fact that she was so small, and it had stopped being funny a long time ago.

"Whatever Sasquatch," Ariel sighed, leaning her head against the window.

Sam turned the keys in the ignition and for a while they sat in silence, the only noise between the two of them was the faint music coming from the radio.

"I'm surprised you didn't want to be with your girlfriend," Ariel commented finally.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked finally, furrowing his brow in confusion.

She turned to give him a long look. "Sam," she said. "Come on, I'm not stupid. You and Ruby are a thing, yes?"

"No," he laughed as if it were the most ridiculous thing in the world but when he caught sight of the narrow-eyed look Ariel was giving him he cleared his throat, smile vanishing. "Okay so maybe there was something going on, but I put an end to it."

"Sam, _gross_!" Ariel cried out. "She's a demon. She's evil. It's _gross._ "

"Ari," he sighed, keeping his eyes determinedly on the road now. "Look, okay… there was a lot going on after Dean died. Ruby helped me. She saved my life."

"Did she help you with those abilities of yours?" Ari asked.

"How did you-"

"Sam," she cut him off. "You guys might not tell me everything but I'm pretty good at piecing things together on my own. I heard Ruby talking to you in the church. And then that demon said something too. That's also how I figured out that something was going on between you and Ruby that was more than… platonic. Well, that and the fact that she was just in a tank top and panties when we first saw her in this new body. Also that angel, Uriel, flat out said you'd been screwing her."

"She did help me with the abilities," Sam nodded. "I was exorcising demons while Dean was in Hell. I drink her blood and it like… amps them up. I help people."

"You lied to us," Ariel accused. "Me _and_ Dean. 'It was practically your dying wish.' That's what you said. We already help people Sam. And what you're doing… it's _disgusting_."

Okay so yes, she was hurt. Really hurt. Sam had lied to them to their faces. Had been messing around with a demon. He had been drinking her fucking blood. Who knew what else he had gotten up to during the four months that Dean was in Hell.

"I knew Dean would be pissed!" Sam defended.

"He has every right to be!" Ariel shot back. " _I'm_ pissed, Sam! You have no idea what that demon blood could be doing to you! Ruby could be manipulating you!"

"She's not," Sam assured her. "I trust her."

"Yeah?" Ariel snorted in contempt, shaking her head. "I thought you were supposed to be the smart one."

"Ariel, please-"

He began but she turned away, reaching forward to turn the radio up before shifting so that she could rest her head against the window. "Whatever," she said. "I'm going to sleep. Wake me when we get there."

And with that, they both fell into an awkward silence, the void of which was filled with classic rock that Sam dared not change.

Ariel sat quietly for a long time before sleep came, eyes stubbornly closed so that Sam couldn't tell that she was faking. He had _lied._ He was screwing Ruby and drinking her blood and that was _wrong._ They were supposed to kill demons not hop into bed with them and use their blood for a little midnight snack. And Sam was acting like it was all _okay._ Like what he was doing wasn't likely to put him at the top of any _sane_ hunter's hunting list.

When Ariel finally drifted into an uneasy sleep, it was ten songs later and the soft voice of Stevie Nicks finally lulled her under.

* * *

"It's beautiful."

Ariel would have been surprised to hear those words come out of Dean's mouth if she wasn't she busy pulling her Polaroid from her bag. It wasn't her preferred camera for actual serious photography photos but it was all she had with her at the moment and Dean was right. It was beautiful

She held her camera level, capturing the tree in its lense and took just a moment to admire it.

The tree had grown tall, taller than any of the others surrounding it, and despite the fact that it was November, the branches were still heavy with bright green leaves. The branches twisted towards the sky, like hands reaching up towards heaven and, with the slight breeze, the leaves swayed gently.

There was a click and a flash and then the sound of the picture printing from the bottom of the camera which Ariel grabbed and shook, waiting for the image to fade into focus. And there it was, immortalized forever though, Ariel had to admit, it didn't hold a candle to the real thing.

She slid the camera back into the bag before sliding the picture into a notebook she kept in her bag for safekeeping before turning her attention back onto the tree, looming high over their heads.

It was remarkably beautiful, but at the end of the day, it _was_ just a tree.

"It's where the grace touched down," Anna assured them. "I can _feel_ it."

She started across the clearing towards the tree with an air of determination, leaving the others to follow behind

"You ready to do this?" Dean asked as they approached.

"Not really," Anna shook her head.

Ariel didn't blame her. She had disobeyed in the first place, had fallen from Heaven and had cut her grace out herself. She clearly didn't want to go back, but it seemed as if it would be the only way to keep herself safe.

"You know what we're looking for, right?" Ariel couldn't help but ask when they reached the tree.

It was beautiful yes, but seemingly normal.

Reached out a hand, pressing it flat against the trunk as she closed her eyes. There was a moment of silence before she opened them again, sighing heavily.

"It doesn't matter," she said. "It's not here. Not anymore. Someone took it."

* * *

They were out of fucking options.

With a sigh, Ariel finished her meager dinner of Slim Jims and Doritos before leaning back in her chair. When she was finally home for more than five minutes, she was going to make some real food damnit.

Right after she slept for about eighty years.

"We still got the hex bags," Dean said as he paced, his shadow long and slanted against the walls of the old barn they were hunkered down in. "I say we head back to the panic room."

"What, forever?" Ruby snorted, rolling her eyes.

"I was just thinking out loud," Dean defended.

"Besides," Ariel added. "Who said you're invited? I already let you into my house once. I'm not terribly keen to have you inside again. Trash is supposed to be taken _outside._ "

Ruby's eyes flashed angrily and she opened her mouth to say something in retaliation, but Sam cut her off, stepping between them and blocking their view of the other.

"Guys, hey. Knock it off, okay?"

"Anna's grace is gone, you understand? She can't angel up. She can't protect us."

"Gosh, I'm so glad we have you here to explain it to us," Ariel drawled. "We would be so lost without you."

" _Ariel,_ " Sam warned, crossing his arms over his chest.

She rolled her eyes but shut her mouth. They were all agitated, she knew. All tired and hungry and desperate for a solution that ended with everyone _alive._ And the chances of that happening were looking slimmer and slimmer.

They had not been in this barn for long but had needed a place to regroup and figure out their next course of action. So they had grabbed all the flashlights and electric lanterns from the cars and had hunkered down with their meal haul from the closest gas station.

"We can't fight Heaven and Hell," Ruby continued as if Ariel had not interrupted her with a snarky comment. "One side maybe, but not both. Not at once."

"Um… guys," Anna said suddenly, standing up from the chair she had been sitting in and catching all of their attention. For the most part, she had been quiet, off in her own little world it had seemed. "The angels are talking again."

"What are they saying?" Sam asked immediately.

"It's weird… " Anna said, tilting her head and furrowing her brow as she listened. "Like a recording… a loop. It says, 'Dean Winchester gives us Anna by midnight, or… "

"Or what?" Dean asked.

Everyone was staring at Anna intently, waiting for her to tell them what ultimatum that angels had come up with. Ariel's stomach clenched in anticipation. This wouldn't be good, she could just feel it.

"'... or we hurl him back to damnation.'"

"No," Ariel said immediately, turning to look at Dean. "They can't do that!"

What was the point of pulling him out in the first place if they were just going to toss him back in at the first sign of him doing something they didn't like?

"They pulled me out," Dean reasoned. "They can throw me back in."

"I won't let them," she said firmly, though logically she knew there was not much that she could do. They still didn't have a damn weapon to use on these things and didn't know of any runes they kept them _out_ of a place.

Dean looked at her, smiling slow and sad, though there was affection in his eyes as he looked at her.

"Ari," he said. "What do you think you can do to the angels?"

She opened her mouth, as if to reply, but paused for a moment when she realized she didn't have an answer. Asking them nicely clearly didn't work and without a way to fight them…

She whipped around to face Anna. "Is there a weapon that can be used against angels? To hurt them or kill them or… ?"

Anna shook her head. "Nothing we can get to," she said. "Not right now."

Ariel refused to believe it. They had only just gotten Dean back and now there was the chance that they might lose him. The angels were truly so set on their goals that they would sacrifice the man they had literally pulled out of hell.

The obvious answer was to give Anna up, but Ariel refused to even entertain the thought, not if there was the potential for some other solution. They were meant to be helping Anna, not throwing her to the wolves.

But… if not other solution presented itself…

"Okay wait, wait," Dean began, his voice awfully calm for someone who had just been threatened by the angels. "I say that we call Bobby. We get him back from hedonism."

"Dean, what's he going to tell us that we don't already know?" Sam asked impatiently. He looked just as upset as Ariel felt, his mouth set into a scowl, and brow furrowed in concentration.

If Ariel knew her brother, he was likely going through every possible scenario, trying to figure out a way to save Dean. Ariel saw the moment the realization crossed his face that sacrificing Anna might be the only way.

They were both willing to do whatever they had to in order to save Dean.

Despite the fact that she was currently pissed off at Sam, and with good reason, Ariel felt a rush of affection for him. They could fight and nag each other but at the end of the day, they would do anything, literally _anything,_ for the others.

"I don't know!" Dean snapped. "But we've got to think of something."

He didn't seem to realize that Ariel and Sam both knew what the probable outcome of the situation was going to be.

* * *

Ariel knew they weren't going to be much use against angels, but she had laid their weapons out across the table in the old barn and was looking them over thoughtfully. It had been a long night, just another in a series of long nights, and Ariel had been dreading the inevitable for _hours._

The angels were coming and when they got there, one way or another, something bad was going to happen. Either they were handing Anna over, or the angels were taking Dean. It left a foul taste in Ariel's mouth, left her stomach churning in a way that made her feel as if she might be sick.

She didn't _want_ to hand Anna over, that would mean certain death for her, but she didn't want Dean to be sent back to Hell even more.

Ariel just didn't see another way.

Glancing up at her brothers, she saw that they didn't _look_ any more relaxed than she felt. Dean was seated in one of the few chairs, holding his flask in his hand.

Sam was pacing restlessly, agitated and worried.

They had awoken this morning to find Ruby missing with no sign of where she could have been. Probably getting the hell out of dodge before the big bad angels could show up, and that was the _best_ possible scenario.

Sam swore that she wouldn't just leave and abandon them to the mercy of the angels, but Ariel and Dean were not so sure. Ariel had told Sam that he was giving Ruby too much credit.

It was the first thing she had really said to him really since their talk in the car, and that was another thing that was bothering Ariel. She knew she was right to be upset, knew that what Sam and Ruby had been doing was wrong, but she hated fighting with either of her brothers.

"I don't know man," Sam said, still pacing, running a hand through his hair. "Where could she be?"

"Hey," Dean said with a shrug, not looking up at his brother. "She's your Hell buddy."

He looked worried, his grip on the flask tight. Dean would be unwilling to give Anna up, it just wasn't in his nature. He would be fine going back to Hell if it meant she would be okay, he was good like that. But Ariel and Sam were _not_ willing to let that happen.

Looking deep in thought, Dean raised the flask to his mouth and took a long drink.

"Little early for that, isn't it?" Anna asked, looking at him with a raised brow.

"It's 2 A.M. somewhere," Dean said, shrugging again.

Dean and Anna had disappeared off together at some point the night before, and Ariel had a strong suspicion that she knew what happened. If she was right, it would likely make Dean even more determined to sacrifice himself for Anna.

"You okay?" Anna asked gently.

"Yeah, of course," Dean responded.

He didn't sound okay.

The doors to the barn burst open then, making more sunlight to stream inside as Castiel and Uriel strode inside purposefully.

"Hello Anna," Castiel greeted when his eyes fell on her. "It's good to see you."

Dean stood, sliding his flask back into his pocket. He examined the angels almost… boredly, Ariel noticed. There was no sense of urgency in his actions. It seemed almost as if he were resigned to his fate.

Ariel grabbed her gun from where it was set out amongst the other weapons, cocking it and holding it tightly. Despite the fact that it would do fuck all to these angels, it made her feel better to have it in her hand, ready to use.

"How?" Sam asked, looking at the angels in shock. "How did you find us?"

That was a good point. How _had_ they been found? The hex bags Ruby had given them should have kept them hidden from both sides. Ariel's first instinct was that they had been fake, but that didn't make any sense. The hex bags had kept them hidden so far and Ariel couldn't think of a reason they would just… stop working.

"Dean?" Sam asked suddenly, catching Ariel's attention and making her turn to face Dean sharply, surprised.

He had _told_ them?

Dean turned to face Anna, smiling sadly. "I'm sorry," he said.

Ariel furrowed her brow, trying to make sense of this whole thing. It was one thing if the angels had appeared to Sam or Ariel if it meant keeping Dean safe they would have told the angels without hesitation. But this seemed out of character for Dean.

"Why?" Ariel couldn't help but ask.

"Because they gave him a choice," Anna said, eyes widening in realization. "They either kill me… or you and Sam. I know how their minds work."

When it came to keeping each other safe, it seemed all three siblings were in agreement.

Anna moved closer to Dean, giving him her own sad smile, before leaning up to place a kiss against his mouth. "You did the best you could. I forgive you," she said, before turning to face Uriel and Castiel. "Okay. No more tricks. No more running. I'm ready."

There was no fear on her face, no sadness. She had turned to face the angels steadily, her face expressionless.

She was being remarkably brave, and Ariel had to admire that about her. She was turning to face her death without crying or being angry about it. She must have known that even if Dean didn't give her up, Ariel or Sam would.

That's what it was like, being a Winchester. You would do whatever had to be done to protect your siblings.

"I'm sorry," Castiel said, though his face remained impassive at best.

"No you're not," Anna shook her head. "Not really. You don't know the feeling."

No, Ariel realized. He probably didn't. The best he could do was say the words because he realized what they were doing was wrong and he realized he _should_ feel sorry.

"Still," Castiel said. "We have a history. It's just-"

"Orders are orders," Anna interrupted him. "I know. Just make it quick."

Before Uriel and Castiel could do anything the demon from the church, Alastair, appeared behind Sam and Dean, holding Ruby's arm tightly with two other demons by his side.

Ruby was bleeding, Ariel realized. She was bleeding and looked scared, terrified even.

"Don't you touch a hair on that poor girl's head," Alastair simpered, releasing Ruby and pushing her away.

She stumbled forward, before moving quickly to Sam's side, turning to look between the other demons and the two angels, eyes wide.

Ariel turned to look at her brothers, her own eyes wide with panic. It had been one thing, having to deal with the angels. But to deal with both? They _couldn't._ They didn't even have the demon-killing knife anymore.

"How dare you come into this room… you pusing sore." Uriel boomed, eyes narrowed dangerously at Alastair.

Alastair tilted his head, looking more amused than anything. "Name calling?" He pouted slightly. "That hurt my feelings… you sanctimonious, fanatical prick."

Ariel may not have liked Uriel, but she definitely disliked Alastair even more.

"Turn around and walk away now," Castiel advised.

"Sure," Alastair told him agreeably. "Just give us the girl. We'll make sure she gets punished good and proper."

"You know who we are and what we will do," Castiel began, his tone vaguely threatening now. "I won't say it again. Leave now… or we will lay you to waste."

Ariel couldn't help but admire how he didn't resort to insults like the other two had.

"Think I'll take my chances," Alastair said, before lunging forward at Castiel.

The other demons moved forward as well, one running at Uriel and the other heading towards Anna, but Dean intervened, throwing a punch that made the demon stumble back for pouncing at him again.

Panicked, unsure what to do, Ariel could only look between the pairs that were fighting, tugging her lower lip between her teeth. She felt like she should help. She _wanted_ to help, but she wasn't quite sure how.

As she watched, Castiel reached out to place a hand on Alastair's head, closing his eyes and furrowing his brow in concentration.

Nothing happened.

"Sorry, kiddo. Why don't you go run to daddy?" Alastair asked before landing a sudden uppercut to Castiel's jaw.

Castiel stumbled backwards, falling and landing on his back, and Alastair was on him in an instant, gripping Castiel by the neck as he started to chant quickly, the words unfamiliar, but the look on Castiel's face was enough for Ariel to know that whatever Alastair was doing was bad.

It was not the fact that Alastair seemed to be winning that jolted Ariel into action. No, it was the because the look of panic on Castiel's face was the first form of emotion she had seen him exhibit.

She raised her gun, leveling it with Alastair's hosts head and fired, the gunshot echoing through the small barn.

It wouldn't do much to the demon, and likely the host was already dead, but the recoil was enough to knock Alastair away from Castiel.

Castiel blinked, turning to look at Ariel in shock as she met his gaze evenly.

"You're supposed to say thank you," Ariel told him.

With a groan, Alastair rose to his feet, turning to face Ariel with a small smirk.

His head wound was bleeding profusely, the blood leaking down from his temple so dark it was almost black.

"Hello Little Rabbit," Alastair said pleasantly, his words sending a chill down Ariel's spine. "I've been hoping to have some fun for you. I'll bet you'll scream so good for me."

Sam and Dean were still fighting the demon and it seemed Ariel would have to face Alastair alone. _After_ she had shot him and undoubtedly pissed him off.

Ariel raised her chin, trying to appear unperturbed. "You don't scare me," she said, her voice coming out strong and steady.

There was no trace of the lie in her voice.

Alastair made to move towards her, pulling the demon-killing knife from his pocket, but Castiel had moved to his feet and knocked him suddenly away, Alastair's body getting hurled to the opposite side of the barn.

"No!"

The sound of Uriel yelling made both Ariel and Castiel turn to see what had happened.

Anna stood over him, holding a glowing pendant in her hand and looking quite satisfied. She looked up, expression meeting Uriel's, before the broke the pendant, the glowing light moving towards her, into her mouth and making her whole body glow incandescent.

" _Close your eyes! Close your eyes!"_ She yelled, her whole body arching with the power that had moved into her.

Ariel turned away, throwing her arm over her eyes to act as a shield as the light expanded to fill the whole barn.

When finally the light dissipated, the barn was very, very quiet.

Ariel moved her arm, turning around once more to see that both Anna and Alastair had disappeared, the demon-killing knife lying on the floor where Alastair had been. Alastair's two demons had been killed, their bodies lying uselessly on the barn floor.

Uriel rose to his feet, scowling as he turned to look at Sam and Dean.

He had had Anna's grace, Ariel realized. He was the one who had taken it from the tree. And now… Anna was an angel again?

It seemed, for once, that everything had turned out okay.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for?" Dean asked. "Go get Anna. Unless, of course, you're scared."

It was easy for him to be cocky now, Ariel knew. They had seemingly won.

"This isn't over," Uriel growled, tone dangerous.

"Oh," Dean chuckled. "It looks over to me, Junkless."

Uriel glared for a moment longer, before both he and Castiel disappeared with the sound of ruffling feathers.

"Are you guys okay?" Ariel asked immediately, moving to her brothers.

They looked okay, thankfully, but that didn't abate Ariel's worry.

"Are you?" Dean asked, looking her over critically. "You shot the big bad demon."

"I didn't know what else to do," Ariel said with a shrug.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked Ruby, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She winced. "Yeah, not so much."

"What took you so long to get here?" Dean asked.

Ariel furrowed her brow, looking at Dean in confusion. What was he talking about?

"Sorry I was late with the demon delivery," Ruby replied snarkily. "I was only getting tortured."

"I got to hand it to you, Sammy. Bringing them all together at once - angels and demons. It was a damn good plan."

" _What?"_ Ariel asked sharply, glaring at your brothers. "You had a plan that _didn't_ involve just handing Anna over? Why the hell didn't you tell me?"

"Yeah well, when you got Godzilla and Mothra on your ass, best to get out of their way and let them fight," Sam said, ignoring Ariel.

" _Guys!"_ She cried out indignantly.

"Look, Ari," Sam sighed, turning to look at her finally. "We're sorry. We just needed it to be believable."

"You didn't think I could be believable?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Better safe than sorry," Sam said. "Everything worked out, didn't it?"

Well… yeah, but that didn't mean Ariel wanted to be kept out of the loop. Wasn't it better if they were all on the same page? And the fact that they seemingly didn't have faith in the fact that she could lie and play the part well hurt a bit.

Without a word, Ariel turned away, scowling slightly.

"So, I guess Anna is some big-time angel now," Sam turned back to Dean. "She must be happy, wherever she is."

"Yeah," Dean sighed heavily. "I doubt it."

* * *

The sunlight was bright and warm as it shone down on them, despite the chill of the fall air.

Ariel returned her things to her trunk, putting each of them back in their designated places Dean and Sam did the same thing in the trunk of the Impala.

Ariel wanted to be mad at them for keeping the plan a secret, she really did. But she just couldn't be. Yes, she was irritated, and would probably hold it over their heads forever. But they had gotten out of the fight unscathed and that counted as a huge win.

Reaching up, Ariel slammed the trunk of the Charger closed before turned to lean against it, arms crossed over her chest as she waited for her brothers to finish.

When the finally did, Dean and Sam both moved around the front of the car and Sam offered Ariel a small smile.

"Look," he said. "We didn't mean to make you feel inadequate, Ari. We just thought it was for the best."

"It's fine," Ariel admitted with a heavy sigh. "Like it was shitty of you and all but it all turned out okay. I forgive you for not telling me. I'm just glad Anna is okay."

"You were really going to just give Anna up for me?" Dean asked.

Ariel looked at him, nodding. "You would have done the same thing for either of us, Dean," Ariel reminded it. "It wouldn't have felt good but… I wasn't going to let them send you back to Hell. I love you, Dean. I would have done the same thing for Sam."

"Well I'm glad it didn't come to that," Dean said.

Ariel was too.

"Well, I'm gonna head home I guess and actually sleep in my own bed. And eat food." Ariel moved forward to wrap her arms around Dean in a tight hug. "You be careful," she said.

"You too," he replied, wrapping his arms around her, and lifting her off the ground slightly with the intensity of the hug.

They let go and Ariel moved to hug Sam as well, smiling at the look of surprise on his face. "I'm still pissed off at you," she told him as they embraced. "But I forgive you. For keeping me in the dark, I mean. Just don't do it again, please. I love you, Sam."

"I won't," he promised, his arms tightening around her. "I love you too, Ari."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay so admittedly I was very worried that I wasn't going to get this chapter posted today and have spent the last three hours hustling on getting the final result on a chapter I was pleased with and then editing the chapter. And even though it's a few hours later than I generally like the post them, I'm still on schedule. So everything worked out I guess!**

 **I really appreciate everyone who has favorited, followed, and left reviews as they really do make me happy and give me boosts of confidence that help me to pump these chapters out on time!**

 **Please leave a review to let me know what you think guys and, as always, I'll see you in the next chapter!**


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